Two years ago today, the unthinkable happened. Daphne Caruana Galizia got into her car just before 3pm, and seconds later, a huge explosion rattled the sleepy town of Bidnija. The 53-year-old blogger and journalist was instantly killed and the explosion bloodied Malta’s name around the world.
At the time, the police were rightly lauded for springing into action and arraigning three men they believed sparked the bomb. That happened just seven weeks of the murder.
After a lengthy compilation of evidence, the men are now formally facing a trial. But while the police appear to have built a strong case against brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, as well as Vince Muscat, the masterminds have still not been brought to justice.
In November 2018, The Sunday Times of Malta had reported that top criminal investigators had identified “more than two” Maltese nationals who they believe masterminded the killing. Many had dismissed that story as conjecture, some going even so far as to claim it was propaganda “fed” by the authorities to give the impression something was happening.
We stand by that story.
Last February, we reported that foreign investigators had questioned the reluctance of the Maltese police to proceed against more suspects, believed to be between three and five men. The police had insisted they need to gather more “rock solid evidence” before interrogating and proceeding in court.
We stand by that story.
That was eight long months ago. Very little information has emerged from the investigations since and we fear there is no longer the sense of urgency there was within the investigation as we saw in the initial aftermath of the bombing.
Last week, Times of Malta cited two sources close to the investigation saying a major businessman is among three potential suspects believed to be behind Ms Caruana’s murder.
And last Sunday, we reported that one of the men charged with the murder has over the past months proven willing to provide some information about his role in the execution.
The stories did not come out of the blue. For weeks, we gleaned information from reliable sources close to investigations, that information was doubled-checked, even triple-verified. We took the decision to run the stories with utmost responsibility, employing the journalistic maxim "when in doubt leave out".
We chose not to run certain factual details lest it hampers the investigations. But it was our duty to follow up on the reliable information we received almost a year ago.
The media has a duty to make sure any investigations into a crime are not delayed unnecessarily, even more so when it concerns a woman who was killed because of the work she was doing. It is up to the police to protect potential witnesses and leave no stone unturned.
Too many seem resigned to the fact that the people who commissioned Ms Caruana Galizia’s murder will forever remain elusive, the way the killers of Karin Grech and Raymond Caruana have been allowed to walk free.
We cannot allow that to happen again. The longer the culprits are left to roam the streets, the better their chances of covering their tracks.
It is up to credible news organisations to fight for justice, to put pressure in a responsible way on the authorities to act... and one day hopefully, to stop Malta’s name being dragged through the mud.