IGM: Culture minister is 'out of touch'

The Malta Journalists Association has called out Culture Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea for being "out of touch" with the realities journalists face, after he dismissed concerns about their safety following the Yorgen Fenech trial verdict.

The culture minister was doorstepped outside parliament before an urgent sitting. The session was prompted by the outrage caused by Yorgen Fenech’s acquittal over his role in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder.

Asked by journalists to comment on whether he believes journalists are less safe after the verdict, Agius Galea said that he did not believe journalists were less safe and seemed to refute the fact that Caruana Galizia was killed because she was going to publish damning information.

"His comments confirm how out of touch members of the administration remain with the stark and dangerous reality faced by journalists in Malta," the IĠM said. "An apology isn't enough."

The IGM explained that the night the verdict was delivered, journalists in Valletta were afraid to walk to their cars alone. “The chilling effect has reached all newsrooms. In the past three days, several journalists have told the association they no longer feel as safe as they did a week ago.”

Agius Galea, who oversees the media sector, said he does not think journalists are any less safe.

The IGM said that as the fourth estate, journalism plays a critical role in Malta's democracy, yet those in power continue to downplay the systemic risks that threaten it.

They also pointed to the independent inquiry, which found that all the evidence it had heard led to a conviction that Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination was either intrinsically or directly linked to her investigative work.

“The government cannot claim to believe in the integrity of institutions while denying an inquiry's verdict that a journalist was assassinated for doing her job,” the institute said. “They also cannot insist institutions carry out their work while ignoring and failing to implement the public inquiry's recommendations.”

The IĠM reminded the government that true respect for democracy and the fourth estate begins with acknowledging the truth, accepting full accountability, and urgently delivering the protection Malta's journalists rightfully deserve.