'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished.
An independent inquiry into the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia released on Thursday has found that the Maltese state “has to bear responsibility” for the assassination due the culture of impunity that emanated from the highest levels of government.
Caruana Galizia's family had sought the inquiry into the Oct. 16, 2017 car bombing near the family home in Malta. The murder in the small EU country sent shockwaves felt not just in Malta, but throughout Europe.
The inquiry found that there was no evidence that the state played a direct role in the assassination, but said the state “has to bear responsibility ... by creating an atmosphere of impunity, generated from the highest levels in the heart of the administration of (the prime minister's office) and, like an octopus, spread to other entities, like regulatory authorities and the police, leading to a collapse of the rule of law.”
The report said the state and its entities had failed to recognize the real risk to Caruana Galizia's life, given the threats she had lived under, and also failed to take measures to avoid the risk, the report found.
The Caruana Galizia family said in a statement that the inquiry's findings confirm the family's conviction “that her assassination was a direct result of the collapse of the rule of law and the impunity that the state provided to the corrupt network she was reporting on.
“We hope that its findings will lead to the restoration of the rule of law in Malta,” the family added.
Yorgen Fenech, a prominent businessman who had ties with some government officials, is alleged by prosecutors to have been the mastermind of the killing. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of alleged complicity in the killing and allegedly organizing and financing the bombing.
In addition, three men have been charged with carrying out the attack, two with providing explosives and another with being the middleman. Trials are under way. One of those charged with carrying out the attack has admitted his role, as has the middleman.
Joseph Muscat, Malta's former prime minister, stepped down in late 2019 following protests that pressed for the truth about the assassination of the investigative journalist, whose reports targeted Muscat's administration but also the opposition.
In a statement on Facebook, Muscat sought to distance his administration from “the state of impunity” mentioned in the report.
He noted that the arrests of the alleged hitmen within two months and the alleged mastermind a few months later “disproves any impression of impunity that the alleged perpetrators may have had.” And he pointed the finger at previous administrations, during which he said “high profile crimes were committed, but nobody was every prosecuted.”
The inquiry report made a number of recommendations to improve laws and better protect journalists in Malta.
During a press conference, Prime Minister Robert Abela, who took office last year, apologized to Caruana Galizia's family for the state's “serious shortcomings.”
He said earlier that lessons must be taken from the report and reforms need to be pursued “with greater resolve.”
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished.
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. senators have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging his country to live up to its commitment to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence amid concerns that key members of the NATO alliance are not pulling their weight.
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina.
WestJet is asking the federal government to put measures in place to lower ticket costs for travellers, but questions remain on who would foot the bill.
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account – and the life-changing moment was caught on video.
Witnessing a potential tornado was 'surreal' for residents who caught a glimpse of the damaging storm in southern Ontario on Wednesday night.
Students at Curé-Antoine-Labelle High School near Montreal are protesting after they say their school's administration started pushing what they call a 'sexist' dress code.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.