Several events and activities were held earlier today to remember the ninth anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination.
The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) held a vigil in front of the law courts, next to the Great Siege Monument, which is also used as a makeshift monument in memory of murdered journalists. Flowers and notes were laid in memory of the journalist.
Journalists from different newsrooms across Malta gathered for the vigil, which was organised to show support and solidarity with the Caruana Galizia family and with fellow journalists. The IĠM executive council also laid a wreath at the foot of the monument.
IĠM President Nicole Meilak said that Daphne’s killing “was not only a brutal murder of a journalist but a direct attack on the public’s collective right to know”.
Nicole Meilak stressed that while journalists’ work should be open to scrutiny, bullying, harassment and threats must be condemned. She added that, following the acquittal of Yorgen Fenech, the media’s role becomes even more essential when public trust in the institutions responsible for delivering justice is lost.
The IĠM also announced that its members would attend the 3pm vigil in Bidnija, near the site where Daphne was killed by a car bomb on 16 October 2017.
Separately, Caruana Galizia’s family met with Archbishop Charles Scicluna, with whom they spoke and prayed together.
The commemorations mark nine years since the investigative journalist was assassinated while reporting on corruption. Yorgen Fenech has been acquitted of charges of commissioning her murder, despite admitting to the police that he had approved and paid for her murder. Her executioners are serving life sentences behind bars.
Live footage of the vigil in Bidnija here.
Newsroom
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