Brussels, April 23, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today welcomed the appointment of Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt as the special rapporteur of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The rapporteur will monitor the ongoing murder investigation in Malta, examine the broader circumstances surrounding the journalist’s death, and make calls for impunity to be addressed.
“This international scrutiny of the murder investigation is important and we hope that all investigating bodies, including the Maltese police, as well as Europol and the FBI, provide their full support to Pieter Omtzigt’s work,” said Tom Gibson, EU representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “The investigations into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder must be full and independent–and seek to prosecute those who commissioned it.”
In January, civil society organizations joined the family of Caruana Galizia in a call for the position of special rapporteur to be established.