Last interview with Daphne Caruana Galizia published on third anniversary of her death
In tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia and to raise awareness about the dangers faced by journalists in exercising their profession, the Council of Europe has today published the last interview the Maltese investigative journalist gave before her assassination three years ago to the day.
The full-length interview was conducted face to face with Daphne on 6 October 2017, just ten days before the journalist’s shocking murder. It was co-edited for publication by William Horsley, of the Association of European Journalists and the Centre for Freedom of the Media at University of Sheffield, and Dr Marilyn Clark of the University of Malta.
In the words of the co-editors the interview with Daphne Caruana Galizia “is a first account of how the journalist, columnist and blogger was exposed to years of physical, psychological, judicial and economic harassment and intimidation by many who sought to deter her”. It also portrays the “dangerous realities of the journalist/s everyday life as well as those of for many other investigative journalists who strive to hold power to account”.
Simultaneously the Council of Europe published an in-depth study of the actual threats and hostile environments faced by independent journalists in Europe, titled “A Mission to Inform: Journalists at Risk Speak Out”. The book was commissioned by the Council of Europe and is co-authored by Marilyn Clark and William Horsley.
It draws on full-length interviews conducted with 20 active independent journalists from 18 European countries which have been closely analysed to provide new insights into the multiple forms of intimidation and pressure experienced by journalists in Europe, with forward-looking recommendations aimed at establishing practical and effective safeguards in law and practice to turn back the tide of violent and legal assaults directed at journalists and otehr media workers, and the growth of cultures of impunity which in many cases shield the killers and attackers of journalists.
The interview with Daphne Caruana Galizia was conducted as part of the major project to collect detailed data based on the first-hand accounts and perspectives of the 20 contributing journalists, including some of the most prominent investigative journalists and editors in Europe. It was not intended to be published as such in full or as a stand-alone document, but is now published in recognition of its significance as the journalist/s last assessment of the circumstances of her life and work before her assassination. Her words stand as a powerful testimony of the “climate of fear” in which many journalists undertake their work.
The interview is published together with a foreword by Stefan Schennach, General Rapporteur media freedom and safety of journalists at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and a tribute by her son Andrew Caruana Galizia.
Councill of Europe press contact:
Jaime Rodriguez, Spokesperson/Media officer, Tel. +33 3 90 21 47 04 www.coe.int