‘Disarm, dismantle networks of corruption and abuse of power endangering journalists’

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation has warned that Malta’s long-awaited media reforms must go beyond symbolism and deliver systemic change to safeguard journalists and prevent future attacks on the press.

In a submission to the government, the Foundation said the State had a “decisive choice” to implement measures that fully guarantee free expression or risk perpetuating the failures that preceded the 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The government is obliged to implement the recommendations emerging from the public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s killing. The inquiry concluded in 2021 that the State had created a “culture of impunity” that enabled the murder by failing to protect the journalist despite sustained threats, harassment and dehumanisation over several years.

The Foundation’s submission emphasises that any reform must create “an enabling environment where freedom of expression can thrive, underpinned by strong protections for media freedom”. It adds that building such an environment would not only make the assassination of another journalist “impossible but unimaginable”.

Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb outside her Bidnija home in October 2017. Her reporting had exposed high-level corruption and political wrongdoing. The aftermath of her murder provoked mass public protests, the resignation of then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, and heightened international scrutiny of Malta’s rule of law.

In recent years, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the OSCE, and international press freedom groups have repeatedly urged Malta to implement robust reforms to ensure journalist safety, effectively tackle Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), and strengthen the independence of media and law enforcement institutions.

The Foundation argued that reforms must be comprehensive rather than cosmetic. “There is no middle ground for genuine reform,” the submission states, insisting that Malta must “disarm and dismantle the networks of corruption and abuse of power” that endangered journalists and eroded public trust.

Any legislative changes, the Foundation said, should meet Council of Europe standards and uphold the recommendations of the public inquiry, which called for systemic reforms across government, law enforcement, and the media sector to protect journalists and guarantee the public’s right to information.

“This reform process must lead to the creation of an environment that protects journalists, guarantees the public’s right to know, and rebuilds trust in Malta’s democracy,” the Foundation said.