I've followed this story very closely for a year and written about it numerous times, so if you're unfamiliar with Daphne's assassination please see the links at the bottom of the page.
Justice for Daphne
Why is finding those responsible for Daphne's murder so important?
Well, if we pan out and survey the landscape of journalism around the world we see a very disturbing picture emerging. Journalists are being pursued, harassed, intimidated, tortured and eliminated for simply doing their job.
This piece could very well be titled:
Justice for Jan - Justice for Viktoria or Justice for Jamal
These are the names of some of the journalists who've had their lives taken away since Daphne's murder one year ago. The only crime these journalists have appeared to of committed is speaking truth to power.
Jan Kuciak
Jan along with his fiancee, both 27 years-old, were murdered in his home each by a single bullet in late February of 2018. Investigators determined that Jan and his fiance were murdered by professional hitmen. A Slovak investigative journalist, Kuciak was investigating the increasing presence of elements of Italian mafia crime family, the Ndrangheta, in Slovakia.
Kuciak had been working with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the Czech Center for Investigative Journalism (CCIJ), and the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI) on what may have turned out to be a far more dangerous story: An investigation that delved into the infiltration into Slovakia of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, one of the world’s most powerful and fearsome criminal groups.
“The ‘Ndrangheta holds a dominant position in the cocaine market in Europe, and is involved in many other criminal fields, including weapons trafficking, fraud, rigging of public tenders, corruption, intimidation, extortion and environmental crime,” according to a Europol Threat Assessment of Italian Organized Crime published in June 2013.
https://www.occrp.org/en/amurderedjournalistslastinvestigation/
https://www.euronews.com/2018/02/28/colleagues-carry-on-where-murdered-journalist-jan-kuciak-left-off
*The Ndrangheta mafia was also one of the criminal organizations that infiltrated Malta's online gaming industry - reported on my Daphne Caruana Galizia
Viktoria
Viktoria Marinova was an investigative journalist from Bulgaria murdered last week in the nothern town of Ruse.
Viktoria was raped, beaten, and murdered not long after she broadcast an interview with two investigative journalists on her TV program called Detector. Her body was found in a park showing signs of suffocation and head trauma suffered from repeated blows to the head.
The last episode of the show on September 30 broadcast interviews with investigative journalists Dimitar Stoyanov from the Bivol.bg website and Attila Biro from the Romanian Rise Project, about an investigation of alleged fraud with EU funds linked to big businessmen and politicians.
Al jazeera
A suspect has been arrested in connection to her murder and the investigation is ongoing. The local TV station where she worked stated that the neither Viktoria or the station had received threats before her untimely death. Viktoria was 30 years-old.
Justice for Jamal
Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi is the most high profile case of a murdered journalist in recent memory drawing international condemnation. As been reported widely, Jamal visited the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey hoping to receive official documentation attesting to his divorce from his previous marriage so he could get married with his current partner. Jamal entered the Saudi embassy and never returned.
Turkish officials have released cctv footage of Jamal entering the embassy but not exiting. Turkish investigators believe that prior to his arrival at the embassy a team arrived from Saudi Arabia to interrogate, arrest or possibly murder the dissident journalist. Saudi crown prince Slaman has vigorously denied claims that his government had ordered the killing. Many believe that Khashoggi's body has been dismembering to cover up the murder. Observers outside the embassy saw cleanup crews arrive just hours before the newly appointed joint investigation of Turkey and Saudi Arabia was to commence.
The Turkish government has also told the Trump administration that it has audio and video recordings of what occurred inside the consulate that day. U.S. officials have said this material supports the conclusion that Khashoggi was interrogated, tortured and then killed.
Impunity in Malta
A year after her murder, the Maltese government still refuses to launch an full independent inquiry into Daphne's assassination.
The Galizia family continues to insists that the government of Malta must permit a full judicial public inquiry into Daphne's murder sighting that those conducting the investigation have a conflict of interest as Daphne had targeted police and government officials in her work.
Today, the Maltese PM Joseph Muscat met with a mission made up of representatives from the committee to Protect Journalists, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, the International Press institute, Pen International, and Reporters Without Borders.
The mission had this to say to Mr. Muscat:
The way Daphne has been treated is a disgrace. In the course of her 30 years as a journalist she received countless threats, her home was set on fire, her family dogs were killed, her face was plastered on derogatory billboards, she faced misogynistic attacks… let us stop here as the threats and violence she was subject to were innumerable yet tolerated, and helped create an environment in which she could be murdered with impunity.
Times of Malta
Mr. Muscat and his government continue to ask for patience as any new inquiry would be premature as the criminal and magisterial investigations are yet to be completed. He also stated that the
Police investigation were going ahead "full throttle", however he would not comment further for fear of jeopardising ongoing police work.
Unfortunately, the Prime Minister's words ring hollow in the ears of the international community who have looked on as the Maltese government continues to obscure justice and drag their feet in finding those responsible for ordering Daphne's mafia style execution in broad daylight.
Journalism Under Fire
Over the past year we've witnessed a crackdown on journalism, but let's not get confused. I'm not talking about the stenographers endlessly repeating state propaganda,reading advertiser friendly scripts off teleprompters for their corporate masters, but actual journalism. From the continued silencing of Julian Assange, to the latest purges of independent outposts from social media giants, voices of dissent are being targeted and marginalized.
Links
@v4vapid/no-need-for-public-inquiry-says-malta-s-pm-while-pursuing-libel-case-against-murdered-journalist-and-her-family
@v4vapid/real-journalism-gets-you-killed-the-murder-of-panama-papers-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia
@v4vapid/arrests-made-in-contracted-killing-of-panama-papers-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia
@v4vapid/torrent-of-loathsome-libel-suits-brought-against-assassinated-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia
@v4vapid/the-daphne-project-the-work-of-murdered-maltese-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia-rises-again
