Eight vigils around the world to mark six months since Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder

Eight vigils around the world, including Malta, Berlin and Washington DC, will be held on Monday 16 April, commemmorating six months since the death of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In Malta, a mass and a vigil organised by Civil Society Network, Occupy Justice, Il-Kenniesa and Awturi will take place in Valletta.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna will be celebrating mass at 6pm at St Francis Church, Republic Street Valletta, followed by a vigil at Great Siege Square in commemoration of Caruana Galizia.

The vigil will be addressed by Pauline Ades-Mevel (Head of the EU desk of Reporters wIthout Borders (RSF), Manuel Delia, Pia Zammit, Alex Perici Calascione. Compered by Robert Aquilina.  

Vigils in London, Berlin, Dresden, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Brussels and Washington DC, are also being organised by Maltese activist group Il-Kenniesa along with eight global press freedom groups - Reporters Without Borders, Index on Censorship, Transparency International, English Pen, Scottish Pen, Committee to Protect Journalists, European Federation of Journalists, and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 

Vigils around the world:

• Malta Vigil: Valletta, Great Siege Square at 19:00
• London Vigil: Outside Malta High Commission, Piccadilly, at 13:00 (UK Time)
• Berlin Vigil: Outside the Malta Embassy, Klingelhöferstraße 7, 10785 at 17:30
• Edinburgh Vigil: Outside Scottish Parliament, at 14:00 (UK Time)
• Amsterdam Vigil: Outside Malta Consulate, Minervalaan 111, 1077 NV
• Brussels Vigil: Rond – Point Robert Schuman at 13:00
• Washington DC Vigil: Organised by RSF(USA), Outside Embassy of Malta at 11:30am
• Dresden Vigil: Oraganisaed by ECPMF, Kreuzkirche am Altmarkt, An der Kreuzkirche 6, 01067, at 17:00.

Since her assassination on 16 October 2017, Caruana Galizia has been awarded with seven international awards and honours, including the Person of the Year award by Italian daily La Repubblica and the Tully Award fro Free Speech by Syracuse University in the US.

On the day marking six months since her death, a consortium of 18 news organisations announced they had collected over 750,000 files and official documents in order to complete and publish the stories of the slain journalist.

Various billboards and banners have also been erected all around Malta, calling for justice. Caruana Galizia's family filed a judicial letter calling on the Planning Authority to cease and desist from removing banners critical of the government from public spaces.  

Leading international writers also joined PEN International in calling on Europe to protect press freedom in Malta. Writers from all around the world wrote an open letter to the European Commission expressing their grave concern regarding developments in the investigation into her assassination and ongoing reprisals against her family and sources.

Over 250 influential writers, publishers and PEN members including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Anne Enright, Ian McEwan, Kamila Shamsie, Neil Gaiman, Eva Bonnier, Elif Shafak and Colm Tóibín are calling on the European Commission to ensure justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia, and for the protection of journalists and whistleblowers in Malta.