On 16 October, we marked 7 years since the assassination of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was brutally murdered for bringing to light the truth about corruption and crime in Malta. At the time of her death, she was facing dozens of lawsuits for her reporting, which were then inherited by her family. Many of the attacks came in the form of SLAPPs, strategic lawsuits against public participation. To date, no journalist or individual has been targeted by a greater number of SLAPPs than Daphne and her family.
Vigils for Daphne were held in Malta’s capital Valletta, Brussels, London, and other cities and towns across Europe. Together with partners, we reiterated our calls for greater safeguards for journalists everywhere, and appealed to Prime Minister Abela, urging his government to create a safe environment for journalists in Malta.
Following the 2019 public inquiry into Daphne’s killing, spearheaded by her family, the subsequent report published on 29 July 2021, and with consistent advocacy by Daphne’s family and the international human rights community, the Maltese government pledged to reinforce media freedom, improve the safety of journalists and address SLAPPs.
But the proposed reforms fall short of expectations.They were established without scrutiny by, or consultation with, media experts. In many cases, they did not meet international standards, rendering them potentially ineffective.
To this day Malta has taken no steps to implement many of the public inquiry's recommendations, which highlighted the state’s responsibility for Daphne’s death, the authorities' failure to protect her, and a collapse of the rule of law in the country.
The anniversary of Daphne’s murder comes just days ahead of a conference in Madrid that aims to raise awareness about the phenomenon of SLAPPs in Spain. Co-organised with local partners, the conference will assess the ongoing impact of SLAPPs on civil society and democracy in Spain – where the issue remains largely unknown – and across Europe. Journalists, activists, and freedom of expression advocates will share firsthand experiences and insights, and discuss effective solutions for protecting journalists from abusive litigation aimed at silencing them.
Following the adoption of the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive in February 2024, the conference will focus on how to build an effective protection mechanism based on the minimum standards outlined by the EU.
