US condemns killing of Malta journalist, says FBI assisting probe
October 18, 2017
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday condemned the slaying of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and said the FBI had responded to Malta’s request for assistance in investigating the car bomb attack that killed her.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the United States condemned the “appalling violence that took place against her in the strongest terms,” calling it a “cowardly attack” against a reporter who was dedicated to fighting corruption.
“We responded quickly to the prime minister’s request for assistance. The government of Malta and Malta police force have been in contact with the FBI about the investigation and the FBI is providing specific assistance,” said Nauert, who called for a “thorough, transparent and independent” probe.
Earlier, the son of Malta’s best-known investigative journalist said his mother was killed by a car bomb because of her work exposing political corruption.
Daphne Caruana Galizia, who wrote about graft across Malta’s political divides on her blog, was murdered on Monday soon after she left her home in the north of the island.
“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 said on Facebook.
“She was also targeted because she was the only person doing so,” he added.
He described rushing to the scene after hearing the news, only to find the burning car and her remains.
The explosion, which blasted the car off the road into a field near the village of Bidnija, stunned the small Mediterranean island. Authorities said it was the first murder of a journalist there.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and opposition leader Adrian Delia — who had both been criticised on her blog — both condemned the killing. Around 3,000 people held a silent, candle-lit vigil on Monday night in Sliema, just outside the capital Valletta.
Maltese authorities were awaiting the arrival of Dutch forensic experts and American FBI agents on Tuesday to help the investigations.
A tent was erected over her burnt-out car and sheets placed over her remains.
“Everyone knows Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic of mine, both politically and personally, but nobody can justify this barbaric act in any way,” said Prime Minister Muscat, who had been suing her over some of her allegations.
Opposition leader Delia called her killing an attack on democracy and freedom of expression and demanded an independent inquiry.
Half an hour before the explosion tore into her car, Galizia wrote on her blog: “There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.”
