The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has approved a damning report into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, which also highlighted serious concerns over the state of the rule of law in Malta.

The full text will be published soon.

According to media reports, the document flags “serious concerns” over the investigation into the murder, namely with the conflict of interest of magistrates and police officers, the continuing compilation of evidence against the three men charged with the murder, and the lack of progress in finding the mastermind behind the assassination.

“No one has been arrested for ordering the assassination. A magisterial inquiry is still ongoing, with no news on its progress”, the report states

It also claims that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna have enjoyed total impunity under his “personal protection”.

“Despite certain recent steps, Malta still needs fundamental, holistic reform, including subjecting the office of Prime Minister to effective checks and balances, ensuring judicial independence and strengthening law enforcement and the other rule of law bodies”

The report also allegedly presents a grim picture on the current state of affairs, noting that there exists “compelling evidence” to assume that Mizzi and Schembri “are involved in several serious cases of abuse of office, corruption and money laundering”.

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Julian Bonnici

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.