Journalist Of The Panama Papers Is Bombed

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Some 3,000 people gathered Tuesday in Sliema, Malta, to pay tribute to investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who died Monday when a bomb exploded under the vehicle she was driving.

The 53-year-old informant was well known for her blog criticizing the government of Malta, a small island in the center of the Mediterranean, as well as for her contribution to the investigation of the Panama Papers, which revealed an international plot for hide in tax havens the assets of, among others, politicians, criminals and wealthy businessmen.

In his investigations of leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm, he had exposed his small country's ties to networks that are dedicated to hiding fortunes from the authorities, either to avoid paying taxes or to hide their illicit origin.

Those leaks reached the wife of the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, who was involved in several businesses based in tax havens. Members of the government, who were also accused of having hidden businesses or accounts, were also splattered.

The BBC reported that Caruana Galizia had left his home in Mosta, a city outside of La Valleta, the capital of the Mediterranean island, when the explosive device was activated that caused the vehicle to fly over a wall and fall in a seed.

Her son Matthew Caruana Galizia, who was near the scene, ran to the vehicle when the explosion occurred to try to rescue his mother, but there was nothing he could do.

"My mother was killed because she stood between the rule of law and those who try to violate it, just like many courageous journalists," said the also journalist.

In a long message on his Facebook page hours after that crime, the victim's young son accused the Maltese police of incompetence and the government of “impunity”.

He also directly blamed several government leaders for the murder of his mother. "When state institutions are disabled, the last person left is often a journalist," he said.

He also noted that what happened tarnishes the image of Malta as a liberal western nation. "Yes, this is where we are: a gangster state where you can now change your gender on your ID card (thank goodness for that!) But where you will be smashed to pieces for exercising your basic freedoms."