The EU said Tuesday it was “horrified” after a Maltese journalist who investigated corruption in premier Joseph Muscat’s inner circle was killed by a car bomb, calling for justice to be done in the case.
“We are horrified by the fact that a well known and respected Maltese journalist, Ms Daphne Caruana Galizia, lost her life yesterday in what was seemingly a targeted attack,” European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters.
“This is a horrible event, a major thing that needs to be investigated, and clarified, and justice needs to be brought.”
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and his team “condemn this attack in the strongest terms possible,” Schinas said.
“The right of a journalist to investigate, ask uncomfortable questions and report effectively is at the heart of our values and needs to be guaranteed at all times,” he added.
“We trust now that justice will be brought even if this will not be enough to right this wrong.”
Schinas however declined to comment on whether the EU could open a rule of law case against the 28-nation EU´s smallest member state, saying the investigation there was still ongoing.
Muscat has condemned the killing of Galizia, a key figure in digesting the Panama Papers tax data leak, as “barbaric” and said he had ordered security services to devote maximum resources to bringing those responsible to justice.
But her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, accused Muscat of being “complicit” in her grisly killing and described finding his mother´s body in pieces after the car bombing. (AFP)
