A reform of media laws should also look into the business and commercial interests influencing media outlets, the green party said on Saturday as it emphasised the importance of investigative journalism in a democratic society. 

Speaking at a press conference held by the Great Siege Monument in Valletta, ADPD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo and deputy chairperson Sandra Gauci both said that developments in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case served to remind people about the value of independent, investigative journalism. 

“Nothing is sacred for investigative journalism,” Cacopardo said. “It is a unique tool to hold accountable not only political authorities but also economic and religious ones. In this context journalism is the cornerstone of a democratic state.” 

On Friday, two brothers were convicted of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia in October 2017 after they registered a guilty plea on the first day of their trial. Caruana Galizia, who foreign media have described as a “one-woman Wikileaks”, was arguably Malta’s foremost investigative journalist. 

Sunday marks the fifth year since her assassination.

The Caruana Galizia family has said that while it welcomed news of the Degiorgio brothers’ conviction, others responsible for the murder have yet to be brought to justice. 

ADPD’s Gauci said that justice continued to move “at a snail’s pace” in Malta and said this was not surprising when one considered the way in which top institutions had been compromised. 

She cited one such example, noting that former deputy police Commissioner Silvio Valletta, who was initially in charge of the murder investigation, had been exposed as having a close relationship with Yorgen Fenech – the man accused of commissioning the assassination. 

Valletta retired from the police force some years ago but has never been charged with any crime. Fenech remains in police custody, awaiting trial. 

Gauci decried the state’s multiple failings that had led to the assassination, describing them as “a failure of the institutions which have been hijacked into servicing the criminal world rather than safeguarding the citizen.” 

Having now secured the conviction of all three hitmen who carried out the murder, the state should now ensure that any politicians involved in it are identified, the ADPD said.

It noted that former ministers Chris Cardona and Carmelo Abela have been mentioned in connection with the crime and a botched 2010 bank hold-up, and said the police should investigate their possible involvement once again. 

Both Cardona and Abela deny any involvement in criminal activity. 

The two ADPD politicians said they were pleased to see that the government was now open to consulting more broadly on reforming media laws. 

Any eventual reform should also look at the financial and business interests influencing the media, they said. 

“There is always the risk that financial and commercial interests’ covert agenda is behind certain ‘stories’, with the intent of deceptively influencing public opinion,” ADPD said.