AEJ joins London Vigil for Daphne on the anniversary of her brutal murder: an urgent call for justice
MEDIA ADVISORY
ONE YEAR ON – LONDON VIGIL FOR DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA
Tuesday 16 October will mark one year since the brutal assassination of Malta’s best-known investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, Daphne Caruana Galizia. She was killed when a car bomb detonated as she drove away from her home in Bidnija, Malta. Although three individuals have been arrested in the murder investigation, those who ordered her killing have yet to be brought to justice. To honour her bravery, and to call for justice in her case, a group of Maltese people living, studying, and working in London, together with a number of free expression and anti-corruption NGOs, will organise a candlelight vigil outside the Malta High Commission in London.
Similar events will take place in Malta and in other European cities.
What: A vigil to pay tribute to the courage of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and to call for justice
Where: 197 Piccadilly, St. James’s Church courtyard, London W1J 9LL (opposite the Malta High Commission)
When: Tuesday 16 October, from 7pm to 8pm GMT
Who: The vigil is co-sponsored by the Maltese community in London, the Association of European Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Commonwealth Journalists Association, Index on Censorship, PEN International, Reporters Without Borders and Transparency International
Press contacts: Robert Zammit, for the Maltese community in London, at +44 (0) 7873 590480 or [email protected] ; William Horsley, Association of European Journalists and Commonwealth Journalists Association, at + 44 (0) 7711 912499 or [email protected] ; Bebe Santa-Wood, Committee to Protect Journalists, at +1 212-300-9032 or [email protected] ; Sean Gallagher, Index on Censorship at +44 (0)20 7963 7262 or [email protected] ; Sahar Halaimzai, PEN International at +44 (0)20 7405 0338 or [email protected] ; Rebecca Vincent, Reporters Without Borders at +44 (0)7583 137751 or [email protected] ; Dominic Kavakeb, Transparency International at + 44 (0)20 3096 7695 or [email protected]
Further information
At 3pm on 16 October 2017, as Daphne Caruana Galizia drove away from her family home in Bidnija, Malta, a bomb placed under the seat of her was detonated. She was 53 years old. The last words she wrote were ‘there are crooks everywhere, the situation is desperate.’
One year since her brutal murder, there are major concerns about the independence, impartiality and effectiveness of the Maltese authorities’ investigation. While three individuals have been arrested in the murder investigation, those who ordered her killing have yet to be brought to justice. The very same individuals she was investigating remain in charge of securing justice in her case, despite a judicial challenge in Malta’s constitutional court from her family, who have now been completely shut out of the assassination investigation.
Our organisations support Daphne Caruana Galizia family’s call for a public inquiry into her death. In its interim reply to their request, the Maltese government indicated it would not undertake such an inquiry.