‘No one in political sphere has been charged with Daphne’s assassination’

NGO Repubblika have sent a letter to the Police Commissioner to express concern about the fact that no individual from the political sphere has yet been charged in court over the brutal assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia or on the ‘backdrop of corruption which led to this murder’.

In a letter published on Tuesday, a day which marks 40 months since Caruana Galizia was murdered outside her home in Bidnija, the group said: “Criminals and persons involved in business have been arraigned in court but politicians or those who surround them, seem to be untouchables”.

“We have to believe that Malta is capable to be a free democratic state where no one enjoys impunity and where everyone, including those who were or are still involved in politics, have to be accountable for their actions,” the organisation said.

Occupy Justice has also issued a statement saying that Caruana Galizia died because of a “breed of criminals” that has “prospered and flourished”.

“This is a breed of criminals who have been obstructing justice for well over three and a half years, as well as shielding each other so as to avoid prosecution. Their sense of entitlement and complete disregard towards standards in public life is testament to the impunity that they enjoy, hiding behind one prolonged inquiry after another,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday.

Occupy Justice compared these individuals to pigs “allowed to roam free, gorging themselves on anything they can get their trotters on”.

“They thought this [the assassination] was possible because of the intense rot that has been propagated by those in power,” they said. “And to those fleecing our country as they feed on public funds, ‘making hay while the sun shines’, we say, your time will come. At the very least, history will judge you for the disservice you bestowed upon your country, and it will not be kind.”

Repubblika and Occupy Justice organised a vigil to commemorate the journalist and her work 40 months since her assassination.

Speaking at the vigil, Anna Grech called on Maltese citizens not to stay silent. She said accountability has been replaced by the words of ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I don’t remember’.

“Have the persons who stole public funds given that money back for the government to use for the general public?” She said we need competent people assigned to key positions as corruption is still rife, “left right and centre”.

“Those who are in power are all known to us. Some are our neighbours and we saw them kiss the cross and take the oath to serve the country. Let’s unite in one voice for justice,” Grech said.

Martina Farrugia said that more than three years have passed since the journalist’s murder but, on news portals online, one can still see comments attacking Caruana Galizia. She said that no one from the government, in the last years, has ever recognised Caruana Galizia as a journalist and that no efforts have been made to stop these attacks.

She also lashed out at the lack of accountability from politicians in the current administration and called on the Labour Party to apologise for the years it constantly insulted Caruana Galizia.