Daphne Caruana Galizia: how to kill a journalist

• Investigation: One of Malta's most important businessmen is arrested for the murder of journalist Caruana

"We don't know anything. My family doesn't know anything. Journalists don't know anything. People don't know anything." It is the cry of help from Matthew, one of the sons of Daphne Caruana Galizia , the investigative journalist killed in a car bomb attack on October 16, 2017, a case that shocked Maltese and European society and that, two years Then it has not been resolved.

Matthew Caruana was one of the thousands of people who protested yesterday in front of the Government headquarters in Valletta. Inside, the Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, debated with his cabinet whether or not he granted pardon to Yorgen Fenech, one of the island's best-known businessmen, arrested days ago when he tried to escape aboard his yacht . Fenech had asked the authorities for clemency in exchange for telling everything he knew about the murder of the journalist. Although Muscat appeared to announce that he would not be pardoned, hours later the police released Fenech. The political crisis in the country continues to worsen as the pressure on the prime minister grows as the hours go by. According to one of the local newspapers, 'Times of Malta', Muscat could announce his resignation in the next few hours.

Up to three members of his Government have resigned for their links with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana. One of them, Keith Schembri, former head of Muscat Cabinet, was released hours after being interrogated, causing the outrage of Maltese society. Schembri's name appears attached to that of Daphne Caruana in 2016. In February of that year, as part of the investigation of the Panama Papers, the journalist revealed that several companies of Schembri and Konrad Mizzi (then Minister of Energy and current minister Tourism until his resignation a few days ago) had received payments of up to two million dollars from a mysterious company based in Dubai.

In February 2017, Daphne Caruana had written in his blog about 17 Black Limited, a company in Dubai connected with several Maltese politicians. Months later, and after several arrests, the police discovered that at the head of this company was the businessman Fenech, also the owner of the most important casinos in Malta and general director of the country's power and gas plant on which, incidentally, Caruana I was investigating alleged bribes.

150,000 euros and a car bomb

Yesterday, the Reuters agency made public the details of Daphne's death: a commissioned crime for which his murderers pocketed 150,000 euros. The plot includes Vince Muscat and the brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, the only three arrested so far for this case as the alleged perpetrators of the crime. All three will be judged by a jury on a date yet to be determined.

Muscat was one of George Degiorgio's henchmen, known as 'El Chino' and leader of a criminal group. George's brother, Alfred, a member of the same band, also participated in the murder. As Muscat revealed to the police, the brothers had been commissioned to kill Daphne in exchange for 150,000 euros. At first they planned to kill her with an automatic rifle. They began to monitor every movement of the journalist and had identified a window of his house in front of which he used to sit down to write with his computer. However, after a while, the brothers decided that this modus operandi was too risky, so they returned the rifle to an Italian (unidentified) gangster who had sold it and, in return, obtained a bomb.

Daphne lived with his family on top of a hill in the village of Bidnija. There, in the tranquility of the countryside, he worked hours in front of his laptop. I used to park inside the chalet. But on October 15, 2017, Vince Muscat and the Degiorgio brothers realized that the journalist's car was outside the house. So that early morning, Alfred went inside through one of the rear windows and placed half a kilo of dynamite under the driver's seat . The other brother, George, embarked soon after on a yacht from which he sent a text message that activated the bomb. His son Matthew heard the explosion from the dining room. He ran from home. He knew his mother had just been killed.

When Daphne Caruana Galizia set out to investigate the Panama Papers in 2016, she also pointed to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (in power since 2013) and his wife, Michelle Muscat, whom he accused of having a stake in a company with Panama headquarters. The prime minister denied the accusations and called them "the biggest lie in the political history of Malta." Months later, before the pressure on the streets, he called early elections and was again elected.

Malta this year dropped several positions in the annual corruption index published last February by Transparency International, to be ranked number 51 of 180 countries, the lowest ever recorded by this country. The NGO's regional coordinator for Western Europe, Nacho Espinosa, explained it this way: "More than a year after the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed for investigating corruption, it is no surprise that this survey confirms that the situation in the country has worsened. "

Days before he died, Daphne had written in his blog about Schembri, calling him "criminal." The post ended with the following phrase: " There are thieves everywhere, wherever you look. The situation is hopeless ."

Caruana Galizia was one of the best known investigative journalists in the country. With thirty years of experience behind him, he had worked in the main newspapers of the country, Times of Malta and The Malta Independent, but was mostly known for his blog, 'Running Commentary', which he had launched in 2008 and in which he published the investigations that showed to what extent corruption was rooted in the high spheres of political and business power in the country. The blog had more daily visits than any of the country's newspapers.

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