Inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia murder should be apolitical, Adrian Delia says

Persons appointed to the inquiry board investigating the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia should be apolitical in order for the "rule of law to be implemented", Opposition leader Adrian Delia said.

He was reacting to a commitment made by Foreign Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela on Thursday that government will stick to the three-month deadline imposed by the Council of Europe to initiate a public inquiry to determine whether the murder could have been prevented.

Abela's statement, while answering questions at a media freedom event in London, was the first such clear commitment by a senior government member. Until then, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said an inquiry will be held but its timing had to be appropriate not to impinge on ongoing criminal investigations.

Delia observed that the government had finally committed to doing what it should have done as soon as Caruana Galizia was murdered.

He said the government had been stalling on the matter and in the process dodging its responsibilities which in turn had destroyed Malta’s reputation in the Council of Europe.

The PN expected all inquiry board members to be “independent and impartial without any political ties whatsoever”, Delia said.

To do this, the board should be appointed by Parliament and not by the Prime Minister, who he said would only appoint this board because of the mounting pressure from the Council of Europe.

Delia added that the board should be given the remit to determine if Caruana Galizia’s death could have been avoided had the state carried out its duty in taking the necessary action considering the “prejudice and danger she was facing.”

The Opposition leader said the inquiry should also investigate whether the “procedures and administrative structures were sufficient” when it came to protecting her life.

This, he said, was the only way the government would be doing its “duty” and also “implementing justice” with the Caruana Galizia family and the people of Malta and Gozo.