10-17-2017, 04:24 PM
Maltese investigative journalist -- homicide under investigation:
Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (née Vella; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese journalist and blogger. She was known for her work as an investigative journalist and revealing controversial sensitive information, including reports and allegations related to the Panama Papers. She died in a car bomb attack in October 2017.[1]
Caruana Galizia began to work as a journalist in 1987. In the early 1990s, she was a regular columnist with The Sunday Times of Malta and an associate editor of The Malta Independent. She remained a columnist with The Malta Independent and The Malta Independent on Sunday, and was the editor of the Taste & Flair magazine.[3] She maintained a blog entitled Running Commentary, which included investigative reporting and commentary on a number of people, some of which would be labelled as personal attacks. The blog was one of the most popular websites in Malta.[4]
Caruana Galizia's controversial blog resulted in several legal battles. In 2010, she criticized Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera in her blog, who then opened a libel and defamation case against her.[5] The case was withdrawn in November 2011.[6]
She was arrested on 8 March 2013 for breaking the political silence on the day before the 2013 general election, after she posted videos mocking then-Leader of the Opposition Joseph Muscat. She was questioned by police before being released after a few hours.[7][2]
Caruana Galizia was aware of Minister Konrad Mizzi and Chief of Staff Keith Schembri's involvement with companies in Panama before the Panama Papers leak of April 2016.[8] On 22 February, she hinted on Running Commentary that Mizzi had connections with Panama and New Zealand. This compelled the minister to reveal the existence of Rotorua Trust, a New Zealand-registered family trust, two days later. On 25 February, Caruana Galizia revealed that Schembri also owned a trust in New Zealand which in turn held a Panama company.[9]
The April 2016 leak confirmed that Mizzi owned the Panama company Hearnville Inc, and that Mizzi and Schembri had also opened another company Tillgate Inc. The companies were also owned by the Orion Trust New Zealand Limited, which are the same trustees of Mizzi and Schembri's New Zealand trusts, Rotorua and Haast respectively.[8]
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As the first person to break news of Mizzi's and Schembri's involvement in Panama,[4] she was subsequently named by Politico as one of "28 people who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe."[10] Politico described her as a "one-woman WikiLeaks, crusading against untransparency and corruption in Malta."[11]
In 2017, she alleged that Egrant, another Panama company, was owned by Michelle Muscat, the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. These allegations resulted in Muscat calling the June 2017 general elections, which saw Muscat's Labour Party remaining in government. After the elections, Caruana Galizia was also a harsh critic of the new Nationalist opposition leader Adrian Delia.[4]
Caruana Galizia was assassinated using a car bomb in her rented Peugeot 108 close to her home in Bidnija on 16 October 2017. The large explosion left the vehicle scattered in several pieces across nearby fields. She was found by her son Matthew, after he heard a blast from their home.[12] Caruana Galizia had reportedly filed a police report saying that she was being threatened about two weeks before her death.[13] The perpetrator is currently unknown.[14]
The murder was condemned by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who stated that he "will not rest before justice is done" despite her criticism of him. President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and a number of politicians also expressed their condolences or condemned the murder.[13] Opposition leader Adrian Delia called the murder "the collapse of democracy and freedom of expression"[15] and stated that "[the country's] institutions have let us down".[16] President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called the killing a "tragic example of a journalist who sacrificed her life to seek out the truth."[15] Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, stated that the organization is "shocked" by Caruana Galizia's murder and "is deeply concerned about freedom of the press in Malta."[17]
The murder was reported in both local and international media. Caruana Galizia's name began trending worldwide on Twitter,[15] and a number of Maltese expressed their mourning by blacking out their Facebook profile pictures. The hashtag #JeSuisDaphne, echoing the term Je suis Charlie, also appeared.[18]
Thousands of people attended a vigil in Caruana Galizia's hometown [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliema]Sliema on the night of 16 October.[18] Another vigil was held at the Malta High Commission in London.[19]
Forensic teams and police investigators arrived at the crime scene soon after the murder. The head of the magisterial inquiry is to be Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who had fought a legal battle with Caruana Galizia in 2010–11. Caruana Galizia's family are challenging her role in the investigation.[4]
Muscat stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been asked to help the police in investigating the murder.[16] A police forensic investigation team from the Netherlands will also assist.[20]
(Panama Papers -- a disclosure of tax cheating and money laundering by economic elites worldwide)
Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (née Vella; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese journalist and blogger. She was known for her work as an investigative journalist and revealing controversial sensitive information, including reports and allegations related to the Panama Papers. She died in a car bomb attack in October 2017.[1]
Caruana Galizia began to work as a journalist in 1987. In the early 1990s, she was a regular columnist with The Sunday Times of Malta and an associate editor of The Malta Independent. She remained a columnist with The Malta Independent and The Malta Independent on Sunday, and was the editor of the Taste & Flair magazine.[3] She maintained a blog entitled Running Commentary, which included investigative reporting and commentary on a number of people, some of which would be labelled as personal attacks. The blog was one of the most popular websites in Malta.[4]
Caruana Galizia's controversial blog resulted in several legal battles. In 2010, she criticized Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera in her blog, who then opened a libel and defamation case against her.[5] The case was withdrawn in November 2011.[6]
She was arrested on 8 March 2013 for breaking the political silence on the day before the 2013 general election, after she posted videos mocking then-Leader of the Opposition Joseph Muscat. She was questioned by police before being released after a few hours.[7][2]
Caruana Galizia was aware of Minister Konrad Mizzi and Chief of Staff Keith Schembri's involvement with companies in Panama before the Panama Papers leak of April 2016.[8] On 22 February, she hinted on Running Commentary that Mizzi had connections with Panama and New Zealand. This compelled the minister to reveal the existence of Rotorua Trust, a New Zealand-registered family trust, two days later. On 25 February, Caruana Galizia revealed that Schembri also owned a trust in New Zealand which in turn held a Panama company.[9]
The April 2016 leak confirmed that Mizzi owned the Panama company Hearnville Inc, and that Mizzi and Schembri had also opened another company Tillgate Inc. The companies were also owned by the Orion Trust New Zealand Limited, which are the same trustees of Mizzi and Schembri's New Zealand trusts, Rotorua and Haast respectively.[8]
[/url]
As the first person to break news of Mizzi's and Schembri's involvement in Panama,[4] she was subsequently named by Politico as one of "28 people who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe."[10] Politico described her as a "one-woman WikiLeaks, crusading against untransparency and corruption in Malta."[11]
In 2017, she alleged that Egrant, another Panama company, was owned by Michelle Muscat, the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. These allegations resulted in Muscat calling the June 2017 general elections, which saw Muscat's Labour Party remaining in government. After the elections, Caruana Galizia was also a harsh critic of the new Nationalist opposition leader Adrian Delia.[4]
Caruana Galizia was assassinated using a car bomb in her rented Peugeot 108 close to her home in Bidnija on 16 October 2017. The large explosion left the vehicle scattered in several pieces across nearby fields. She was found by her son Matthew, after he heard a blast from their home.[12] Caruana Galizia had reportedly filed a police report saying that she was being threatened about two weeks before her death.[13] The perpetrator is currently unknown.[14]
The murder was condemned by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who stated that he "will not rest before justice is done" despite her criticism of him. President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and a number of politicians also expressed their condolences or condemned the murder.[13] Opposition leader Adrian Delia called the murder "the collapse of democracy and freedom of expression"[15] and stated that "[the country's] institutions have let us down".[16] President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani called the killing a "tragic example of a journalist who sacrificed her life to seek out the truth."[15] Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, stated that the organization is "shocked" by Caruana Galizia's murder and "is deeply concerned about freedom of the press in Malta."[17]
The murder was reported in both local and international media. Caruana Galizia's name began trending worldwide on Twitter,[15] and a number of Maltese expressed their mourning by blacking out their Facebook profile pictures. The hashtag #JeSuisDaphne, echoing the term Je suis Charlie, also appeared.[18]
Thousands of people attended a vigil in Caruana Galizia's hometown [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliema]Sliema on the night of 16 October.[18] Another vigil was held at the Malta High Commission in London.[19]
Forensic teams and police investigators arrived at the crime scene soon after the murder. The head of the magisterial inquiry is to be Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who had fought a legal battle with Caruana Galizia in 2010–11. Caruana Galizia's family are challenging her role in the investigation.[4]
Muscat stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been asked to help the police in investigating the murder.[16] A police forensic investigation team from the Netherlands will also assist.[20]
(Panama Papers -- a disclosure of tax cheating and money laundering by economic elites worldwide)
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.