Daphne Caruana Galiza
The afternoon of 16 October 2017 witnessed the murder of investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta. Caruana Galizia kept the spotlight shining brightly on the various governmental and the underworld entities in Malta.
Caruana Galizia, 53-years old, mother of three sons, was killed when her Peugeot 108 exploded with her inside.
Contemporaneously with her death, her widely read blog (400,000 readers) published a piece on the former Maltese Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri. “That crook Schembri was in court today, pleading that he is not a crook.” She calls Schembri out as a crook, and then paints the picture why she came to this conclusion. She did not live to see her last post published.
Who is Daphne Caruana Galizia, and why would anyone want to see her dead.
Caruana Galizia was recently described by Politico as the 28th person most likely to shape our world in 2017. She was characterized as formidable. Politico quoted opposition ministers of parliament as being glad her pen was focused on the corrupt government in power, as “She single-handedly brought the government to the verge of collapse,” says one MP. “The lady has balls,” says another. She wrote extensively on her blog on the Panama Papers, the compromise of which shed light on corruption and inappropriate financial dealings around the world.
Her weapon, the pen and her blog. Her blog, Running Commentary has been silenced.
All eyes are now on Joseph Muscat, Malta’s Prime Minister. No harsher critic of Muscat and his government existed, and now that critic’s voice has permanently silenced. According to The Guardian, “Muscat condemned the ‘barbaric attack’, saying he had asked police to reach out to other countries’ security services for help identifying the perpetrators. ‘Everyone knows Ms Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic of mine.’ The Guardian goes on to advise Muscat has asked for US Federal Bureau of Investigation assistance in investigating a crime.
Caruana Galizia knew there were individuals who wanted her silenced and dead. Indeed, she reported just two weeks ago how she had been receiving death threats.