Prime Minister retracts claim that Daphne Caruana Galizia's sons were on a mission to disrupt investigations

Robert Abela admits to having made a mistake in writing a Facebook post in 2018, claiming the sons of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia were ‘on a mission to disrupt investigations’

Daphne Caruana Galizia's sons and widower alongside Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando (second left) in one of the demonstrations calling for justice
Daphne Caruana Galizia's sons and widower alongside Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando (second left) in one of the demonstrations calling for justice

Prime Minister Robert Abela has admitted to having made a mistake in claiming that the sons of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia “were on a mission to disrupt investigations”. 

“I admit that Facebook post was a mistake and I retract it,” Robert Abela said on Friday.

He was answering a question after a press conference in Castille, during which he welcomed the Venice Commission's opinion on proposed constitutional and judicial reforms.

Abela also fielded questions on revelations that Yorgen Fenech’s 17 Black benefited from Enemalta's purchase of a wind farm project in Montenegro.

In a Facebook post penned in September 2018, Abela, then a Labour MP, had called out slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s sons, claiming they were on a mission to disrupt investigations.

A screen shot of the Facebook post penned in 2018
A screen shot of the Facebook post penned in 2018

He was speaking about a legal opinion sought by the Caruana Galizia family on the need for a public inquiry into the journalist's murder.

“I tell them that we [the government] do not need biased counsel from them... It would have been better if they talked to us on their mission to disrupt investigations. Instead, they have the audacity to talk about government’s hostility towards them,” Abela had written. 

Confronted by his statement back then, Abela admitted it was wrong of him to pen those words. 

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