Investigations into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder appear to be shrouded in secrecy, as the information released through official channels so far has been scant, fuelling suspicions that a media blackout is in place.
Times of Malta yesterday sent the police questions to shed light on the heinous crime, but clarity was not forthcoming. In his reply, a spokesman justified the refusal on grounds that disclosure of any details could “hinder” the ongoing inquiry.
The approach contrasts sharply to that taken just three days before the attack, when a crime conference was held at the police headquarters in Floriana hailing a record cannabis haul. On that occasion the police were very forthcoming with the media, even though the suspects had not yet been charged and investigations were still ongoing.
Prior to that, it had become customary for the police to brief the media when they were dealing with serious crimes, including other car bomb attacks prior to the one last Monday that left the 53-year-old journalist dead.
For some reason, Ms Caruana Galizia’s murder, which is arguably the most high-profile local crime case in decades, is not being given the same level of importance in terms of communications with the media.
Does this mean that the Prime Minister has assumed the role of the police spokesman?
Times of Malta enquired yesterday about the reasons that no crime conference had been held and who was leading the investigations, considering that the police have roped in experts from the FBI, Scotland Yard and the Netherlands.
Questions were asked about the precautions taken to ensure that the perpetrator(s) would not abscond from the island, if any arrests were made or suspects questioned and the nature of the explosive used. None of the questions have been answered.
Senior investigators who spoke with this newspaper on the condition of anonymity expressed certain reservations about how the case was being handled.
They noted that it was very degrading to leave the victim’s body in a field for almost 24 hours, especially for her family, who live nearby.
Questions were also raised on the time taken for Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera to decide to abstain from presiding over the inquiry. This should not have taken so long.
Furthermore, doubts were also raised on the decision not to hold a crime conference.
“Does this mean that the Prime Minister has assumed the role of the police spokesman? At the moment, it seems there is some kind of media blackout,” the sources said.
Criticism was also levelled at the decision to involve foreign experts from various institutions all at the same time, as this could result in confusion.
“Which legal or investigative system will be adopted? Had the experts only been from one country or institution it would have made perfect sense. Is this a media stunt meant to shirk responsibility in case the perpetrators are not found?” a senior investigator asked.