Sons of slain journalist call for Malta leader’s resignation as UN demands independent investigation

‘We are not interested in a criminal conviction, only for the people in government who stood to gain from our mother’s murder to turn around and say that justice has been served’

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Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat arrives at the EU summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:02pm, 20 Oct 2017Updated: 2:02pm, 20 Oct 2017

Maltese authorities faced mounting pressure Thursday to ensure an independent investigation into the slaying of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was known for her fearless reporting on corruption in the small Mediterranean island nation.

The 53-year-old journalist’s three grown sons called on Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign, saying he should take political responsibility for “failing to uphold our fundamental freedoms” by not rooting out corruption.

A group of UN human rights experts also demanded that the government of Malta “honour its commitment to a prompt, independent investigation” into the journalist’s assassination Monday in a powerful car bomb.

Muscat, in Brussels for a European Union leaders’ summit, did not respond directly to the family’s call for his resignation, but he denied their allegations that Malta is a mafia state.

The husband of slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Peter Caruana Galizia (second left), and their son Matthew Caruana Galizia (centre), walk past the wreckage of the car bomb that killed her on Monday.Photo: AFP

Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Photo: Reuters

“Definitely not. I don’t want to be rushed into commenting on the comments and statements of a son who is in mourning,” Muscat told reporters. “If I had found my mother butchered in a bomb attack, probably I would have said worse.”

Muscat has denounced the assassination and has proposed a reward to find her killers. He pledged to leave “no stone unturned” in the investigation, which is being assisted by the FBI, Scotland Yard, Europol and Dutch forensic experts.