VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A Council of Europe delegation will visit Malta this autumn or early next year to investigate concerns over a “culture of impunity” identified by the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry.
Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, rapporteur for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said the delegation would gather evidence from people across Maltese society.
Chakrabarti said she hoped to complete the report within a year, depending on the cooperation of those involved and where the evidence leads.
The inquiry follows the 2019 PACE resolution on the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and is titled Justice delayed: the unfinished implementation of the Daphne Caruana Galizia case.
The committee heard its first evidence last week from Caruana Galizia’s son, Matthew, and sister, Corinne Vella, shortly after a jury acquitted Yorgen Fenech of involvement in the journalist’s murder.
Chakrabarti said the committee was united in its concern about the wider implications of the case, particularly for the rule of law in Malta.
She stressed, however, that the committee was not an appeal court and would not review the acquittal itself.
“We start with the systemic issues and proposed reforms of the 2019 report,” she said, adding that developments in the case would continue to be examined.
The delegation will also explore concerns about the ability to ensure fair trials in Malta, given the country’s relatively small size and close links between political, business and justice circles.
Chakrabarti said she looked forward to examining these challenges with the Maltese government and other witnesses during her visit.
The Council of Europe had previously pressed Malta to establish an independent public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s murder. The government complied in 2019, shortly before the deadline.
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