Barely two years after the deadly bomb attack on Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the government ordered a public inquiry. This should be checked whether the murder of the blogger critical of the government could have been prevented.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat instructed the Commission of Inquiry, under the direction of a judge, to submit a report within nine months, the government of the island state said. The victim's family, however, does not guarantee the independence of the investigation.
The blogger was blown up on October 16, 2017 near her home in her car. There were ten arrests and three men have to answer for the attack. Many questions about the backers are still open.
Most recently, it became known in November 2018 that the alleged patrons of the murder of Caruana Galizia were identified. A group of Maltese nationals allegedly ordered the murder of the investigative journalist.
Examination begins only after request
Caruana Galizia wrote on her blog about corruption, money laundering and nepotism - scandals involving government officials. Two months before an international journalist consortium uncovered the Panama Papers scandal, she accused the then-secretary of energy and the prime minister's cabinet chief that they had opened shell companies in Panama in 2013.
A company mentioned in the Panama Papers is said to have belonged to the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat - what Muscat had called a lie. The scandal led to new elections, which emerged Muscat's workers' party despite the allegations as the winner.
With the appointment of a commission of inquiry Muscat came now to a request of the Council of Europe. The State Organization, responsible for the observance of human rights, had set a deadline of 26 September for the Mediterranean State. The investigation will clarify whether the state has fulfilled its obligations to prevent vulnerable persons such as journalists preventive, it said in a statement of the government.
"State-sponsored clean-washing"?
Caruana Galizia's family has long been calling for an independent investigation of the crime. However, Prime Minister Muscat did not consult the family before the composition of the commission - and used their own allies. There is a risk that the investigation will "be a state-sponsored clean-up of one's reputation," said Matthew Caruana Galizia, son of the murder victim.
Last week, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, called on Malta to drop 30 libel lawsuits against the family of Caruana Galizia. The lawsuits would unjustifiably put pressure on the family financially and raise questions about media freedom and the rule of law in Malta, Mijatovic said.
The lawsuits filed against the journalist were transferred to the family after her death. The plaintiffs, along with Premier Muscat, are government officials and business people whom the journalist accused, among other things, of corruption.
The journalists' organization Reporters Without Borders welcomed the current decision and at the same time warned those responsible: "The Maltese government must not believe that it can sedate the public by appointing a commission of inquiry," the organization said. (Learn more about the case here.)
"We will be critical of whether the Commission is truly independent and impartial, and we will remind the Maltese Government of its obligations until the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia is completely cleared up and those responsible brought to justice," the statement said ,