Malta is experiencing a “total collapse of the checks and balances” systems with the government taking over “virtually all other institutions”, former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello has lamented. 

In comments to the son of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Paul, Dr Bonello said the issue was even more worrying in light of a situation when the “chief suspect of ill doing is the government itself”. 

“The attorney general, the police, the police commissioner and parts of the judiciary are more than suspect. 

“They give the impression that they are in the pockets of the persons they are supposed to keep in check,” Dr Bonello said. 

The former judge shared his observations during an interview as part of Mr Caruana Galizia’s podcast series – "My Mother’s Murder", currently being aired by Tortoise Media.

Dr Bonello also admitted he was not surprised when Ms Caruana Galizia was murdered in October 2017, saying that he had actually predicted it would happen. 

The journalist had been killed by a bomb placed in her car and which went off as she left her Bidnija home. Three men stand accused of carrying out the assassination while businessman Yorgen Fenech was charged with complicity in the murder in November last year.

“I predicted it. I actually had written, a few months before, that she [Ms Caruana Galizia] was condemned to death. Seeing the symptoms around me, I had no doubt that it would be the outcome of her crusade against corruption and abuse of power. 

“Once impunity becomes the standard, once abuse of power becomes the standard and there are no checks and balances on abuse of power, the lone voice crying in the wilderness is standing out for assassination. And that’s your mother.”