Daphne Caruana Galizia

Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese writer, journalist, blogger, and anti-corruption activist. She was born on 26 August 1964 and died on 16 October 2017. She gained international recognition for her work on the Panama Papers and for being killed by a car bomb. Her reputation, both in Malta and abroad, came from her consistent reporting on wrongdoing by Maltese politicians and other politically connected individuals.

Over the years, she faced intimidation, threats, libel suits, and other legal actions, but she kept publishing. She was arrested twice by the Malta Police Force. Caruana Galizia focused on investigative journalism, covering government corruption, nepotism, patronage, and allegations of money laundering. She also reported on links between Malta’s online gambling industry and organized crime, the country’s citizenship-by-investment scheme, and payments from the government of Azerbaijan.

She published her investigations on her blog, Running Commentary, which she started in 2008. She was a regular columnist for The Sunday Times of Malta and later The Malta Independent. Her blog mixed investigative reporting with commentary, some of which was seen as personal attacks, leading to several legal disputes. In 2016 and 2017, she revealed sensitive information and allegations about Maltese politicians and the Panama Papers scandal.

On 16 October 2017, a car bomb exploded in her vehicle near her home, killing her. The attack drew widespread condemnation locally and internationally. In December 2017, three men were arrested in connection with the bombing.

In November 2019, police arrested Yorgen Fenech, owner of the Dubai-based company 17 Black, on his yacht in connection with her murder. Fenech now faces criminal charges related to 17 Black, following a magisterial inquiry into plans for the company to secretly pay millions to government figures named in the Panama Papers. In April 2018, a group of 45 journalists from around the world launched The Daphne Project, a collaboration to finish Caruana Galizia’s investigative work. The GUE/NGL Award for Journalists, Whistleblowers & Defenders of the Right to Information was created in 2018 in her honor.

Early life and education

Daphne Anne Vella was born on 26 August 1964 in Sliema, Malta, which was then under British colonial rule. She was the eldest of four daughters of businessman Michael Alfred Vella and his wife Rose Marie Vella (née Mamo). She attended St Dorothy’s Convent in Mdina and St Aloysius’ College in Birkirkara. Later, as a mature student, she studied at the University of Malta, earning a BA (Hons) in archaeology with a minor in anthropology in 1997.

She was on the Dean’s List in 1996. She became involved in politics in her late teens; at age 18, she was arrested for taking part in anti-government protests. The officer who arrested her, Angelo Farrugia, later became Speaker of the Parliament of Malta. In 1985, she married lawyer Peter Caruana Galizia, a grandson of John Caruana and a great-grandson of E. L. Galizia and A.A. Caruana.

They had three sons: Matthew, Andrew, and Paul. Matthew worked for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The family moved from Sliema to Bidnija, a hamlet near Mosta, in 1990. Caruana Galizia started working as a news reporter for The Sunday Times of Malta in 1987.

Career

She was a regular columnist there from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1993 to 1996. In 1992, she became an associate editor of The Malta Independent and continued as a columnist for that paper and The Malta Independent on Sunday for the rest of her career. She also worked in media and public relations consultancies. She was the founding editor of Taste and Flair, monthly lifestyle magazines that came with The Malta Independent on Sunday.

These were merged into a single magazine, Taste&Flair, in July 2014, and she edited it until her death. The magazine is now published by The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation. She started her blog Running Commentary in March 2008, which featured investigative reporting and commentary on current affairs and public figures.

It became one of the most popular websites in Malta, regularly getting over 400,000 views—more than the combined circulation of the country’s newspapers. Caruana Galizia faced intimidation for her work. In 1996, her front door was set on fire. Her family dog had its throat slit and was left on her doorstep.

Years later, a neighbor’s car was burned, possibly in a misdirected attack. In 2006, her house was set on fire while the family was asleep inside. After she started blogging, her terrier Zulu was poisoned, and her collie Rufus was put down after being found shot. According to her son Matthew, threats were almost daily, coming through phone calls, letters, notes on the door, text messages, emails, and blog comments.

She was arrested on 8 March 2013 for breaking the political silence on the day before the 2013 general election, after posting videos mocking Joseph Muscat. She was questioned and released after a few hours. In November 2010, after commenting on the conservation of Villa Guardamangia (the early home of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip), The Daily Telegraph described her as Malta’s leading commentator. Other major stories involved the Panama Papers and allegations that Chris Cardona had visited a brothel.