Maltese Media Honours Slain Colleague, Files Court Application To Protect Her Sources
Representatives from most media houses in Malta gathered in Valletta this afternoon to pay tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia who was murdered with a car bomb last Monday.
Following a moving statement in front of the parliament where the press confirmed they would be moving forward with their work without fear, scores of journalists walked towards the law courts in silent tribute for their colleague.
Once there, banners reading ‘Not Afraid’ were laid near the flowers and candles that adorn the impromptu memorial forming at the base of the Great Siege Memorial.
In front of this memorial the Institute of Maltese Journalists together with the support of all media houses, announced they had filed a court application for the investigators to protect Caruana Galizia’s sources while searching through her data for clues about her murder.
The full declaration by the journalists:
We stand here to condemn this barbaric act which not only destroyed the life of a journalist colleague but tried to stifle the right to freedom of expression. We are gathered here to express solidarity with Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family.
This is one of the most despicable acts ever carried out in this country. Nobody deserves to die for exercising their right to speak.
We stand here today to give hope to society. This attack on one of us will not stop us from shining a light where others want darkness, the attack on one of us will not muzzle us, the attack on one of us will not stop us from fulfilling our role as a watchdog to the institutions. We will stand up to intimidation, whoever it’s coming from.
We are sure this country’s citizens understand the importance of upholding and promoting a free and open press.
Yes, we will keep calling for responsible journalism, but we reiterate – it is the authorities’ responsibility to help promote press freedom, to provide access to information, and to stop tolerating incitement against a free media. Ultimately, this is about the rule of law and criminal networks eliminating their critics.
And finally, to the cowards who carried out this attack, our message is one and clear: we will not stop. We will not be afraid.
