• Case Caruana Galicia, Prime Minister Muscat: this is why I resign
  • Caruana Galicia assassination. Muscat: resignation after election of new Labor leader
  • Malta, entrepreneur Yorgen Fenech "was the brain of the Caruana murder". Muscat leaves in January

Share

02 December 2019

Very high voltage in Malta. Thousands of protesters calling for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, in the case of the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galicia, are preventing Muscat himself and Labor MPs from leaving Parliament.

The Maltese Prime Minister gave his last speech in the Chamber, with the crowd outside asking for his resignation. In his speech, Muscat reiterated that he kept his promise to bring those responsible for the murder of the journalist to justice. "When Daphne Caruana Galicia was killed, I promised to do everything possible until all those who killed her are brought to justice," he said. He added that someone was brought before the court as allegedly behind the murder and stated that he had kept his promise to come to Parliament. The prime minister, speaking in front of the empty benches of the opposition, described the FBI as extremely crucial in the investigation.

The last speech in Parliament: "I have not negotiated with the intermediary"
"I have not negotiated with the intermediary," Muscat assured, explaining that the judicial authorities and the police negotiated immunity with the arrested person in exchange for information on the instigator of the murder. "The alleged intermediary lawyers wanted to be granted a pardon before providing the information. I also refused on the advice of the police chief and judicial authority. Instead - he said - I signed a letter with the police chief and the judge in whom I would propose forgiveness after his collaboration ". "I have full responsibility for this decision. The investigators analyzed the information and were clarified with the person concerned. I was then informed by the judge and the police chief that there was sufficient evidence to be confirmed," he said.

The Caruana Galicia family: "Investigate Muscat"
Meanwhile, Daphne Caruana Galicia's family presented a complaint asking the judiciary to investigate Joseph Muscat. The husband of the journalist killed in October 2017, Peter, and his sons Matthew, Andrew and Paul recall that Muscat's right hand man, Keith Schembri, was among the suspects in the murder investigation, and that Schembri himself had access to the investigation records when he was chief of staff at the Prime Minister's office.

EU delegation in Malta on a fact-finding mission
In the late afternoon, a delegation from the European Parliament arrived in Malta on a fact-finding mission to review the situation on the ground. Tomorrow and Wednesday, the delegation will meet with civil society, representatives of the Maltese government and authorities and the family of Caruana Galicia. Nationalist leader Adrian Delia announced that the opposition will boycott all public events, including parliamentary sessions, because Muscat did not immediately resign as prime minister.