1. Peter R de Vries

2021

Peter R de Vries was a dutch reporter and prominent figure in exposing the world of crime in the Netherlands.

De Vries was valued for a number of reasons, but most of his recognition came from solving cold cases, exposing miscarriages of judgements, supporting the families of victims and fearlessly investigating gang leaders.

And due to the dangerous nature that is complimentary to that type of limelight, the journalist was highly targeted and became accustomed to receiving death threats.

These threats came to fruition in July 2021 when he was tragically killed by gunmen in central Amsterdam.

Prior to the incident, De Vries was working as an adviser and spokesman to Nabil Bakkali, a former gang member testifying in the case against Ridouan Taghi, a suspected drug lord who has been described as “one of the world’s most dangerous and wanted men” and is believed to be connected to a number of murders.

There’s mounting evidence that alleges that this murder was pre planned and there are currently two main suspects: an alleged getaway driver and a suspected shooter. According to Dutch media, the killer has ties to Taghi.

Meanwhile, De Vries was not the only person in Bakkali’s orbit that was murdered; his brother and his lawyer also fell victim to this fatal target.

These deaths occurred before that of the journalist, yet his thirst for justice ensured that he would not be deterred from the case.

De Vries covered a myriad of high-profile crimes including the Heineken abduction by Willem Holleeder from which he received threats in 2013.

The journalist also wrote a novel about the case which was later adapted into a movie and he won an Emmy Award for a TV show he made about a US teenager who disappeared while in Aruba in 2005.

De Vries’ death came with a strong public reaction that has manifested in cries of citizens of member states for policymakers to do more at European level when it comes to protecting journalists and increasing transparency.

2. Giorgos Karaivaz

2021

Giorgios Karaivaz, a veteran crime journalist that covered organised crime and corruption, was shot several times by two men on a moped outside his home in Athens in 2021.

His murder was the second journalist assassination in Greece since 2010, after the killing of Socrates Gkiolias.

Karaivaz’s assassination was almost instantly deemed a “mafia-like death contract” killing by police experts. However, public information on the investigations has remained highly scarce and no suspects have been publicly identified, nor have there been any arrests.

The experienced reporter’s career was mostly characterised by his work for national TV channels and newspapers in which he specialised in crime.

He also ran his own website which contained some of Karaivaz’s most detailed reports and in it, he primarily focused on the coverage of issues related to law enforcement and the involvement of top police officers, businessmen and politicians in organised crime.

According to the International Press Institute, the police have been looking into the articles on this website for leads that could explain the killing.

Karaivaz revealed scores of corruption within the police including officers on duty who also worked as personal security for top mafia leaders.

He also alleged that the National Intelligence Service agents carried out illegal phone tracking, spread false information to discredit honourable yet targeted officers, and plotted murders to protect the interests of the mafia.

Nonetheless, investigators remain tight-lipped on the discoveries of this case.

Again, this case has led fellow Greek journalists to plea for protection, not just from violent action but from any means used to silence them.

3. Ján Kuciak

2018

Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak was killed in February 2018 alongside his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova.

Kuciak was an investigative reporter who worked for Aktuality.sk and he mainly covered corrupt businessmen in Slovakia, EU subsidy, VAT fraud and Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta mafia, alongside its attempts to form relationships with Slovak politicians.

It was said that Kuciak’s investigations into claims of corruption before his death would bring down the government of Slovakia and prove that the southern Italian mafia has spread far beyond its shores.

The journalist exposed the presence of the ‘Ndrangheta in Slovakia and business links between an alleged mafia member and two senior government advisers who both worked for the Prime Minister.

However, there has been no evidence that the Prime Minister knew of the links.

Kuciak’s discoveries came to light after his murder and the revelation led to the Prime Minister, along with the advisers, to step down.

Unfortunately, the couple was shot and killed in their home and this triggered protests that were attended by thousands of enraged citizens.

In 2020, A court had found businessman Marián Kočner not guilty of the murder of the journalist and his fiancée despite several people, including the editor-in-chief of Aktuality.sk, being convinced of Kočner’s involvement.

He also alleged that Alena Zsuzsová ordered the murder alongside the businessman based on heaps of evidence and suspicious dealings.

In fact, the victims’ families said they will appeal the verdict while the President of Slovakia admitted her shock at the court’s decision.

Nonetheless, former soldier Miroslav Marček, admitted that he was hired to kill Kuciak and Kušnírová, and in April 2020 he was jailed for 23 years while another suspect was jailed for facilitating the attack.

4. Daphne Caruana Galizia

2017

Daphne Caruana Galizia needs no introduction, she has become somewhat of a national symbol reminding Maltese people of the political and economic corruption that has infested the island, eroding its most valued institutions and swindling trusting citizens.

Prior to her death, Caruana Galizia was one of Malta’s most famous journalists where she worked on crucial investigative stories that revealed money laundering schemes organised by major political and corporate personalities.

She was also involved in calling out the country’s highly flawed electoral system and financial regulators.

However, just before her death, Caruana Galizia was looking into what was then a mysterious shell company, 17 Black Limited, that she alleged had links to former energy minister Konrad Mizzi and the former Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri.

It was claimed that 17 Black was set up to transfer millions to Panamanian companies owned by Mizzi and Schembri who were active politicians at the time.

The journalist had received up to 200,000 leaked documents with information on the crimes but before she was able to review and release it, Caruana Galizia was killed at the mercy of a car bomb.

The unduly assassination was paired with a fierce public outcry and renewed interests into her allegations which further led to the discovery of the owner of the mysterious business, Yorgen Fenech, who is now the main suspect as the mastermind behind her murder.

Fenech also has shares in the infamous ElectroGas Malta, a company that has sparked suspicion since its inception and had been on Caruana Galizia’s radar for some time.

Moreover, as previously mentioned, Caruana Galizia was killed outside her home in Bidnija by a car bomb that went off on 16th October 2017 at 3pm.

Preceding her death, there were reports that the journalist was on the receiving end of threats. She was 53 years old at the time of her death and had three sons.

Her death jolted not only the nation, but the entire European continent and has since served as a reminder of the global need to protect the rights and freedoms of the press.

5. Lukasz Masiak

2015

Lukasz Masiak was a journalist who founded the NaszaMlawa.pl news site in Poland where he reported on several controversial issues.

He covered questionable dealings of local businessmen, drug use involving participants of the local mixed martial arts league, incidents that involved Roma citizens in Mlawa and the severely mishandled investigation into the death of a young woman.

Masiak was brutally attacked and killed in the bathroom of a local establishment on 14 June at the early hours of the morning and the Polish police have issued an international arrest warrant for Bartosx Nowicki, a mixed martial arts fighter.

Foreboding this incident, Masiak had received threats over the phone and through the mail, according to local media. Then in the beginning of 2014, he was sent sent his own obituary and was assaulted near his home, the attacker also teargassed him.

The investigative reporter argued that this incident was not a robbery, he was certain that his attacker was waiting for him and was fuelled by the reports on Masiak’s news portal.

This incident was reported to the police but there were no arrests by the time of his murder.

The killing was met with fervent condemnation from press unions and media freedom organisations who have noticed a “worrying trend of violence toward the sector [journalism]”.

In fact, UNESCO has said that 2021 saw the killings of 55 journalists and media workers. They further argued that the impunity for the crimes remains “alarmingly widespread”.

To conceptualise this a little further, 85% of all killings of journalists since 2006 remain unsolved, according to Politico.eu.

These are only a few of Europe’s journalists who have been killed in recent years, most of which at the hands of corrupt individuals, politicians, corporate personalities and gangs.

Yet they all exemplify the need for a drastic increase in the protection of journalists and the transparency both of the government and of law enforcement when dealing with cases of corruption and murdered reporters.

Investigative journalists live burdened by the constant risk of being reduced to silence. Whether it’s through violent or economic means – the uncovering and dissemination of the truth is being made harder and harder by those in power who actively threaten the core that grounds democracy and its institutions.

Reactively, EP President Roberta Metsola has tirelessly campaigned for the implementation of SLAPP legislation that highly restricts the use of vexatious lawsuits and liberal tourism against journalists.

A report of this nature has already been approved by the European Parliament. The landmark resolution calls for a directive covering domestic and cross-border SLAPP cases within the boundaries of the EU.

Although we must acknowledge that this won’t stop the relentless and sometimes fatal attempts by powerful persons and organisations to silence journalists from exposing their crimes, it will weaken the methods that are currently used by public corporations and thus protect thousands of reporters across the European Union.

Like this, journalists will be able to continue to rip off the armour induced by false information that has shielded the public from the truth.

This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

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