(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Hundreds gathered in Malta yesterday demanding justice, a day after the car bomb assassination of acclaimed and controversial journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Caruana Galizia, a 53-year-old blogger, newspaper columnist and vocal government critic, was killed in a Monday car bombing, just metres from her home.
Crowds gathered outside Valletta's main courts yesterday, demanding that those responsible for the murder be brought to justice.
'I'm here out of fear, shame and anger. This country got to a place we never imagined. We have lost our moral compass. We have adopted a culture of greed, inspired by a political class which chased it. Daphne was the last woman standing trying to remind us between right and wrong, blogger Manuel Delia told DPA.
Michael Briguglio, former chairman of the Greens party, said he was in a state of shock.
'The fact that nobody has resigned is incredible. The fact that the police didn't provide protection to a woman in danger, the fact that the police commissioner hasn't given a comment, is incredible, he said.
Dutch forensic experts arrived in Malta to investigate the scene of the bombing.
They will be joined later by investigators from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Meanwhile, reacting to a news report on the state broadcaster, the police said no reports of threats against Caruana Galizia were lodged at the police station in the past two weeks.
Earlier, the son of Caruana Galizia attacked the Maltese government for allowing 'a culture of impunity to flourish, one day after she died in a car bombing.
'My mother was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists, Matthew Caruana Galizia wrote on Facebook.
Caruana Galizia's reporting in the wake of a massive document leak known as the Panama Papers in which two Maltese cabinet members were embroiled forced an early general election last June.
'I am never going to forget, running around the inferno in the field, trying to figure out a way to open the door, the horn of the car still blaring, he said. 'I looked down and there were my mother's body parts all around me.
'This was no ordinary murder, Matthew Caruana Galizia wrote. 'We are a people at war against the state and organised crime, which have become indistinguishable.
Matti Maasikas, Estonian deputy minister for EU affairs, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, called the killing 'an unacceptable assault on the freedom of speech and democracy.
'The perpetrators must be brought to justice, he said after a meeting of EU European affairs ministers.
In Brussels, the European Commission said it was horrified by the death of Caruana Galizia in 'what was seemingly a targeted attack and condemned it in the 'strongest possible terms.
Margaritis Schinas, the chief spokesperson for the Commission, described Caruana Galizia as 'a pioneer of investigative journalism in Malta.
'Her ability to trigger debate is a testament to the success of her reporting and her dedication to the pursuit of truth. 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, Schinas said. 'We trust now that justice will be brought even if this will not be enough to write this wrong.
Earlier yesterday, journalist groups demanded a thorough probe into the 'assassination, calling it a 'clear attack against press freedom.
'The murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia leaves the journalism community in shock, Philippe Leruth, president of the International Federation of Journalists, said. 'We demand immediate investigation into her killing as this brutal assassination is a clear attack against press freedom.
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) said it was 'appalled by the murder.
'This killing and its circumstances must be swiftly and thoroughly investigated, the organisation's head, Mogens Blicher Bjerregard, urged.
In February, the EFJ denounced the freeze of Caruana Galizia's bank accounts, while also condemning various libel suits filed against her by government officials.
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