Murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is one of the two winners of Transparency International’s 2018 Anti-Corruption award.
“She was a brave investigative journalist who exposed major corruption scandals involving powerful politicians in Malta,” Transparency International said.
The awards were presented at a ceremony at the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Copenhagen on Monday evening where Caruana Galizia’s son Matthew and husband Peter collected the award.
Matthew Caruana Galizia said: “The bomb that took Daphne away from us extinguished the most powerful voice we ever had in our country’s fight for integrity. It also sought to rob us of the hope that her unwavering voice represented. Nothing will ever compensate for the journalist – let alone the person – we lost in her fight against corruption. But this award reminds us not only that hope remains ours to keep but that a large part of the world is hoping with us. It is an overwhelming and deeply emboldening thought for everyone fighting to win her justice and uphold her legacy. Thank you.”
Through her reporting, Daphne Caruana Galizia exposed corruption scandals involving influential politicians and others in Malta and abroad. Since her murder on 16 October 2017, Maltese authorities have initiated criminal proceedings against three alleged hitmen but the Maltese authorities have come under fire for failing to identify the mastermind behind the murder.
Caruana Galizia’s family have asked the government of Malta to establish a public inquiry to investigate whether the Maltese state bears any responsibility for her death, either through its failure to protect her or as a result of any state complicity.
Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is one of the two #AntiCorruptionAward winners 2018. She was a brave investigative journalist who exposed major corruption scandals involving powerful politicians in #Malta. She was murdered in October 2017. This is her story. #18IACC pic.twitter.com/P80gCrdeAM
— Transparency International (@anticorruption) October 22, 2018
Caruana Galizia shared the award with Spanish whistleblower Ana Garrido Ramos. She is a former public servant at Boadilla del Monte Town Hall in Madrid, Spain, whose whistleblower revelations triggered the Gürtel case that led to the fall of the Spanish government.
Garrido Ramos is now campaigning for effective whistleblower protection legislation.