Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, dedicated her career to uncover the truth and reveal it to the world. She was one of the most important investigative journalists in Europe. Galizia tracked down the connections between leaked Panama Papers and the corruption at the level of the government. This fearless journalist lost her life in a car explosion minutes after she posted another lead to a political scandal on her blog.
Galizia Used Her Blog to Expose the Corruption at the Level of Prime Minister and His Entourage
Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia died on Monday. She was driving around her hometown Bidnija, Malta, when her car exploded. Her final blog entry tackled the level of corruption that engulfed even the prime minister’s chief of staff.
Even though the blog of Caruana Galizia is just one among many others, it succeeded to find its own loud voice. This happened when she became the first among investigative journalists who connected the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to a suspicious shell company in Panama, Mossack Fonseca.
A leak in April 2016 exposed 11 million documents pertaining to this organization. The management couldn’t explain why they were receiving payments from the ruling family in Azerbaijan.
Despite evidence brought against him, Muscat denied any involvement in this fraudulent business. However, he did hurry the elections in June when his Labour Party became victorious. Through this success, Muscat secured a second term for himself.
Like Many Other Investigative Journalists, Galizia Used to Report Death Threats to the Police
Nonetheless, Caruana Galizia was determined to expose the facts surrounding the prime minister, no matter how powerful this character came to be. The journalist reported numerous death threats to the police after Muscat’s win for the second term.
Therefore, many suspect the explosion of being deliberate which points out to murder. Prime Minister Muscat offered a statement on Monday according to which he was appalled by the news of Galizia’s death.
“Everyone knows Ms. Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic of mine, both politically and personally, but nobody can justify this barbaric act in any way … I will not rest before justice is done.”
The FBI is investigating the case. So far, there are no suspects. Local newspapers uncovered a document that Galizia filed to the police two weeks ago. The report was signaling death threats.
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