Daphne Caruana Galizia: family of murdered Maltese journalist demand public inquiry into her death

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The family of murdered investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has accused Malta’s government of failing to investigate her death properly and called for a full public inquiry.

The 53-year-old who had reported on money-laundering and corruption, was killed when a bomb destroyed her car last October.

Her son, Paul Caruana Galizia, criticised the investigation into into her death, suggesting it focused too much on how she died instead of who was behind her murder.

He said he wanted an inquiry into the actions of what he called Malta’s “mafia state” to discover whether anything could have been done to save his mother’s life.

Three Maltese men have been ordered to stand trial for the 53-year-old’s murder.

Vincent Muscat and brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, were charged in December last year. They entered not-guilty pleas.

Police believe the men were working for someone, but no controlling figure has yet been identified.

Mr Caruana Galizia delivered a legal opinion prepared by UK lawyers to Malta’s High Commission in London on Thursday. The document said the country’s government had failed in its “investigative duty”.

It stated: “Malta has failed to institute any form of inquiry into the wider circumstances of Ms Caruana Galizia’s assassination”.

Tony Murphy, one of the family’s UK-based lawyers, said Ms Caruana Galizia’s family wants the country’s authorities to establish an independent board of inquiry made up of Maltese and international judges.

He said state involvement in the journalist’s death has not been proven, but the family “certainly can’t rule it out given that the chief targets of Daphne’s criticism in her writing and journalism were senior politicians”.

Mr Murphy said the family is giving Malta’s government until the end of August to respond.

If Malta fails to act, the family plans to take action in the Maltese courts and possibly at the European Court of Human Rights.

In June, the journalist’s husband, Peter, said he and his sons were “not convinced” the Maltese government wanted to establish exactly who was behind the crime.

Additional reporting by AP