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Malta press freedom suffers in 2017
Malta dropped 16 places to rank 33 in the world last year, the annual 2018 ranking compiled by the American-based Freedom House shows
17 January 2018, 10:57am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
1 min read
Journalists from all local media houses gathered in Valletta after Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder
Still considered among the ‘Most Free’ in political rights, civil liberties and the overall Freedom Rating, Malta’s press freedom slipped drastically last year.
Scoring 92 out of 100, Malta lost four points over the previous year. The 2018 index, released by Freedom House, covers events in 2017 and places Malta 33 in a ranking of 195 countries.
Although the country-specific report for Malta is not available, a spokesperson for Freedom House is reported to have said that Malta’s score was conditioned by the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia last October and an accumulation of things, including the sale of passports.
Top of the table with the maximum 100 points came the Scandinavian countries Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Freedom in the world (Source: Freedom House)
Freedom House said democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 as its basic tenets—including guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—came under attack around the world.
The organisation said 71 countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains. “This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom,” Freedom House said.
