State’s Failure To Prevent Daphne’s Murder Led To Malta’s Low Ranking In Press Freedom Index, Foundation Says
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation has said that Malta’s low ranking in Reporter Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index is due to the state’s failure to prevent the Maltese journalist’s murder.
On World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders published the World Press Freedom Index, which revealed that Malta is now ranked 78th in the world in terms of press freedom. This is a slight rise from last year’s ranking which named Malta 81st.
However, the situation surrounding Malta’s press freedom environment remains classified as “problematic”, as journalists still face systematic harassment, and information blackouts and are sometimes faced with lawsuits known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, sometimes known as SLAPPs.
The media landscape in Malta has plummeted significantly in press freedom rankings following the Labour Party’s win in 2013 and Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination in 2017.
When speaking to Lovin Malta about the report, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation said that “the Maltese state’s failure to predict and prevent Daphne’s murder led to her assassination and a collapse in Malta’s ranking in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index”.
The Foundation credited Malta’s improved ranking in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index as “largely due to the public inquiry into the circumstances of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination” and that “this vindicates our campaign for the Maltese state to be held accountable”.
When speaking about what they believe would help Malta’s ranking and press freedom in Malta, they said they believe that the solution lies in the “problems identified by the public inquiry being properly addressed”.
The Foundation was set up to ensure that justice was served for her murder to safeguard her work and to strengthen civil society and the media.
The public inquiry into her assassination – which was the first of its kind in the world – found that her assassination was both predictable and preventable and that the Maltese state must shoulder responsibility for creating a culture of impunity that enabled her assassination.
None of the reform recommendations from the public inquiry has been implemented, even though 10 months have passed since its publication.
Meanwhile, the EU’s institutions have been working towards protective measures for journalists and have also recently launched proceedings against Hungary for its violations of European law and human rights, including attempts to restrict media.
The European Commission also recently revealed groundbreaking legislation to protect journalists and citizens from abusive lawsuits, like SLAPPs designed to silence them. The Vice President of the European Commission revealed that she wanted to name the new anti-SLAPP directive “Daphne’s law” after Daphne.
The proposed law is the result of a group of MEPs from different political groups who came together after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and called for the European Commission to promote an anti-SLAPP directive to counter attempts at silencing investigative journalism. At the time of her death, Daphne was facing over 40 lawsuits.
Almost five years after her brutal assassination and multiple arrests, no one has yet been taken to trial in court over her death
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