‘Daphne was right’ appeared on banners and graffiti overnight in different localities in Malta marking 13 months since Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated.
The barricade around the Great Siege monument in Valletta, erected by the government to ban public access to the site that has served as a protest memorial over the last year, was also spray-painted with graffiti with the same message.
A vigil for Truth and Justice is being organised at 7pm today in Valletta.
The messages at the protest memorial called for justice for Caruana Galizia, as the Maltese government faced criticism at the the UN’s highest human rights body – the Human Rights Council (HRC) – in its review of the country’s track record on human rights this week.
Switzerland was among a list of countries harshly critical of Malta’s track record on press freedom: “There are serious doubts as to credibility of the investigation by the Maltese government into her killing.”
Leading international press freedom organisations have urged the Maltese government to adopt the UN recommendations.
PEN International, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the International Press Institute (IPI), and ARTICLE 19 said: “The lack of progress in the investigation into Caruana Galizia’s murder is a truly disturbing indicator of impunity.”
The banners and messages have regularly appeared overnight on the 16th of the month since the journalist was killed in a car bomb a few metres away from her home in October 2017. This month, the messages have focused on recent revelations related to her work.
‘Daphne was right’ and ‘the truth is out’ appeared next to the number ’17’ with reference to Dubai company 17 Black. The journalist had been the first to raise the alarm on 17 Black saying it was linked to the political class, but she was killed before she could complete her investigation.
A recent probe by Times of Malta and Reuters revealed the mysterious owner behind the company to be Electrogas director Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is the chief executive of the Tumas Group, which is a partner in the gas power station pushed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and then Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi in the 2013 election.
Leaked emails had shown that 17 Black was set to pay Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri’s companies €150,000 a month.
They showed that 17 Black was one of two sources of income for the Panama companies Hearnville and Tillgate, set up by Muscat’s consultants Nexia BT for Mizzi and Schembri a few days after they assumed office in March 2013.
Related news: Disinformation Watch – 17 Black