Updated 8pm with video
Demonstrators gathered outside of parliament in Valletta on Monday evening in protest over revelations from the ongoing Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation.
A number of them waved Maltese flags and others held placards that read 'Parlament bejta ta' korruzzjoni' (Parliament is a nest for corruption), 'Onorevoli bla sinsla' (spineless MPs) and 'ħtaftu l-Korp tal-Pulziija'.
At one point the crowd broke into a chant of 'korrotti', which soon turned into 'minn Kastilja għal Kordin' (from Castille to Corradino).
Some wore masks and visors, as a relatively heavy police presence looked on. Barricades were set up outside of Parliament early on Monday.
PN MPs Jason Azzopardi, Claudette Buttigieg and David Thake joined the crowd, which includes a good mix of ages, including several young people.
Organised by NGOs Repubblika, Occupy Justice and blogger Manuel Delia, protestors are calling for a joint investigation by Europol and the Malta Police Force into the Caruana Galizia assassination and the corruption associated with the killing.
The are also calling for the involved politicians to shoulder responsibility and resign from their public roles, and for the directors of Enemalta to shoulder responsibility for the 17 Black Montenegro wind farm scandal.
Addressing those present for the protest, former PN executive councilor Mark Sammut said that while Robert Abela’s government had told people to let institutions do their work, the administration was taking people for a ride.
“Not only were they not working to uncover the truth but they were trying to bury the truth once and for all.”
Sammut said that based on his testimony on Monday, after previously denying knowledge of the ownership of 17 Black, former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri should have been arrested.
He added that bigwig politicians were not afraid of the country’s institutions but it was public pressure and protestors that had managed to pile pressure on the corrupt.
“The fight against the mafia is fought in the open and we’re going to keep fighting in the streets so that justice is done once and for all.”
Earlier on Monday Schembri testified in court in the compilation of evidence against murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.
Among other revelations, Schembri admitted to knowing that the secret Panama company 17 Black belonged to Fenech after two years of public denials.
After Fenech’s dramatic arrest on November 20 last year, the investigation came under intense public scrutiny with heavily attended and frequent protests coming to a head in December and forcing Muscat to step down as Prime Minister.