The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday 6 October published a letter sent on 23 September to Robert Abela, Prime Minister of Malta, who replied on 4 October.
It calls on the Maltese authorities to “ensure that legislative work launched pursuant to the public inquiry report into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia complies with international standards and is fully open to public scrutiny and participation”.
Focusing on the proposals related to restrictions on the use of SLAPPs, Dunja Mijatović sees them as “a step in the right direction”, but calls for “a broad public consultation to include the views of civil society and the journalist community in this legislative process”.
This process must also be structured by a plan with defined objectives and timings, she said, highlighting “the need to ensure accountability and transparency at all stages of the reform process”.
The Commissioner also stresses the “utmost importance of stepping up investigative efforts to identify and bring to justice all those responsible for Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination”.
Link to the Commissioner’s letter: https://aeur.eu/f/3fx
Link to the reply of the Maltese Prime Minister: https://aeur.eu/f/3fy (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)