The AEJ was one of the organisations supporting @thedaphnefestiv at St John’s Waterloo on Sunday 16 October, to mark five years since Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered. The commemoration was a vigil attended by over 100 people with a live link to Malta and a mass memorial gathering and public speeches in Valetta.
One of the key speeches was delivered by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC who said:
“Everything for these five years has been stitched with the colour of Daphne’s killing.
“We have seen resignations in Malta, including the resignation of a Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, in 2019. Arrests and criminal charges, including against businessman Yorgen Fenech, indicted in 2019 for alleged complicity in Daphne’s killing, and conspiracy to commit murder. A 15-year-sentence for Vincent Muscat, a member of the gang that planted the bomb, after changing his plea and providing evidence for the prosecution; and on Friday, after years of delays and attempts to derail the proceedings, we finally saw the two Degiorgio brothers each sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment after admitting to Daphne’s murder on the first day of their trial. And we have seen an innovative public inquiry take place in Malta, and a damning, detailed 437 page report published in August 2021, finding that the Maltese State should shoulder responsibility for Daphne’s death.
“We have also seen an invigoration of civil society in Malta, a new determination to secure much-needed change.
“Much has been achieved. But it is nowhere near enough. We demand full justice – bringing to account through the criminal justice system not only the foot soldiers, but also the masterminds; all those who plotted; all those who obstructed justice. And wider accountability for those who allowed corruption and impunity to fester and grow.”
