PN leader in renewed call for public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder

Adrian Delia accused authorities of dragging their feet in establishing a public inquiry into the journalist's killing

Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed using a car bomb as she was leaving her home in Bidnija in October 2017
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed using a car bomb as she was leaving her home in Bidnija in October 2017

The Nationalist Party is preoccupied with the fact that the government appears not to be interested in finding out who the masterminds behind Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination were.

Caruana Galizia was killed using a car bomb in October 2017. Today would have been her 55th birthday.

In a statement, signed by leader Adrian Delia, the PN said it would continue to fight for truth and justice, along with Malta’s civil society.

“The government must immediately stop dragging its feet and do what it should have done the day Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed, and appoint a board of inquiry free of political interference,” the PN said.

It pointed out that Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela had recently said during an event organised by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London that the government would be initiating a public inquiry within the three-month deadline specified in Council of Europe report on Malta.

“The government has been dragging its feet for months now,” the Delia said, adding that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had not even responded to a letter he had sent him for an inquiry to be started as soon as possible.

“I am today again appealing to the government to stop ignoring the Opposition, civil society and international institutions.”

In its report, the Council of Europe had said that there was a sense of impunity over the murder, Delia said. A Greco report had similarly criticized the government for its refusal to establish a public inquiry, he added.

Delia recalled that the Opposition had also tabled a motion in parliament asking for an inquiry to be established, however this was voted down by the government. 

An inquiry, he said, was in the interest of the entire population.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said in June that the Attorney General had advised against holding a public inquiry in parallel to the ongoing criminal inquiry. Muscat said the government was seeking legal advice on initiating a public inquiry as requested in the Council of Europe report.