Three men were charged with carrying out the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia just a month and a half after the blast. Two years later, a prominent businessman was arraigned, accused of conspiring to murder the journalist. About a dozen others have been taken in for questioning or grilled at the witness stand.

While we need to let justice take its course, it is amply clear that this case will be dragged out for years, possibly stretched out longer than the Maltese courts’ notorious delays.

Criminal lawyers will do their best to use any tool available to them to defend their clients, trip up the prosecution, raise doubts about witnesses, evidence… The Caruana Galizia case is like no other – there is too much at stake.

The courts need to ensure the process is not dragged out unnecessarily. The prosecution needs to act fast to make sure others who conspired in the crime are questioned and arraigned before they (continue to) hide any evidence and walk free. As the old saying goes: ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.

Three years after the execution, there is good reason for civil society to continue calling out for justice and to make sure that all those who played a part in the murder of a journalist pay for their heinous deeds.

Journalists have a major role to play.

Times of Malta has joined an international journalistic collaboration called the ‘Daphne Project’ to continue the stories that Caruana Galizia was working on as well as to investigate her assassination. Today, Times of Malta has today taken the unprecedented step of collaborating with Malta Today in exposing the murky criminal underground operations that have long threatened the country.

We hope to continue putting the spotlight on people and gangs who have long felt they could continue operating with a sense of impunity.

For years, it has been an almost open secret that the police have been reluctant to act against some of Malta’s hardened criminals because of lack of resources, lethargy or sincere fear.

We can only hope that with a new police chief at the helm, (and so far Angelo Gafà has shown promise) we will start seeing concrete action against the criminals still roaming our streets.

Only then can this country rise from the smouldering ashes and say it has fully resolved this assassination

We expect the police to haul in and keep grilling other persons of interest in this crime – from Keith Schembri to Johann Cremona to Kenneth Camilleri to Lawrence Cutajar to the Agius brothers we are focusing on today. Caruana Galizia’s murder case should not hinge solely on the testimony of Melvin Theuma, who was given a state pardon to tell all about the crime.

For example, the court heard how Camilleri told Theuma he is to assure the Degiorgio brothers that their release from prison would be arranged. The court heard how Yorgen Fenech sent Theuma to ‘tal-Maksar’ who allegedly procured the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia.

The court heard how Schembri colluded with the alleged mastermind right until his arrest. These individuals still walk free. We are informed these individuals have not been properly investigated, in some cases they have barely been questioned on these extraordinary claims.

Times of Malta will continue to do whatever it can do to help bring all the perpetrators to justice, because only then can this country rise from the smouldering ashes and say it has fully resolved this assassination.