On 16 October, Media Freedom Rapid Response representatives and the journalist community gather in Brussels to commemorate the life and work of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese investigative journalist killed seven years ago. As a symbol of press freedom, Caruana Galizia’s legacy highlights the urgent need for stronger protections for journalists and accountability for crimes committed against them.

On 16 October at 12 pm in front of the Residence Palais, seven years after the tragic death of the Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Media Freedom Rapid Response, journalists and representatives of media freedom community will come together to commemorate her brilliant work and dedication.

Caruana Galizia has become the symbol of investigative journalists who are threatened and assaulted as a result of their work. We owe it to her, her family and the entire journalists’ community in Europe that such a heinous crime should not happen again.

We urge national authorities and the EU to do more to protect journalists and combat impunity of crimes committed against them.

We would like to express our solidarity with the activities of the Caruana Galizia Foundation and the work done by her family.

We hope that the on-going trial in Malta will help to resolve all outstanding questions in the case and bring a much needed conclusion to the case.

Daphne Caruana Galizia died on 16 October 2017 when a bomb detonated in her car was near her home in Bidnija, Malta.

Signed:

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

Article 19 Europe

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

International Press Institute (IPI)

OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

This statement was produced as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors, and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.