Killing an investigative journalist has two broad aims. Firstly, silencing the stories that the journalist is working on. Secondly, scaring off other people and investigative journalists.

The Daphne Project by ‘Forbidden Stories’ proves that the murderous gang behind this crime has failed to achieve these two aims. Daphne’s detractors and opponents tried to isolate her, and to discredit her person and her work. Well, that’s over now. Her journalism is certainly not isolated or discredited, and her stories have not been silenced. On the contrary, they are now followed by more people and newsrooms than before.

Journalists have not been scared off. On the contrary, they have joined up and multiplied, pooling resources and digging even deeper. A consortium of 45 journalists from 18 news organisations in different countries, including the Times of Malta, are together continuing Daphne’s most important stories, particularly on corruption and money laundering networks.

They began publishing a stream of articles in Europe and the US last Tuesday, and senior government figures in Malta are al­ready very uncomfortable, issuing state­ments and denials. Big media outlets such as the New York Times, Reuters, The Guardian, La Repubblica and Süddeutsche Zeitung featured them prominently last week.

The Forbidden Stories project is part of an investigative newsroom bringing to­gether a network of journalists who continue the work of other journalists facing threats, prison or murder. They aim to keep stories alive, thereby protecting and continuing the work of reporters who can no longer investigate themselves. Their message to the enemies of the press is: ‘even if you succeed in stopping a single messenger, you will not stop the message.’

Justice for a slain journalist, such as Daphne, does not only mean pursuing the stories, although that is crucial. It does not only mean identifying the killers, although that is of paramount importance. But it also means giving a finger to those responsible, by showing they have instilled neither si­lence nor fear in those still standing.

Daphne’s horrific assassination cannot be undone, and those close to her will not be consoled. But it is still comforting that killing a journalist is not followed by silence but is instead making people speak out. Many will not rest until the murder is solved, and until the stories about Egrant, the Panama Papers and 17 Black, among others, are tackled; not brushed aside or left hanging interminably, but fully investigated, and with priority. We can only hope that the Forbidden Stories team will help to take this forward.

Even if you succeed in stopping a single messenger, you will not stop the message

The recent murder of a journalist in Slovakia led to the resignation of the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the interior minister, the minister of culture and the head of police, responding to public pressure. Here in Malta, the response could not be more different. There have been no resignations at all, and instead senior government figures and their entourages and supporters continue to criticise the murdered journalist, and now even to harass her grieving family. It is appalling to watch.

The behaviour of the chairman of European Capital of Culture Valletta 2018, Jason Micallef, has slipped so far downhill that it has attracted the censure of PEN International, who chastised him in an open letter endorsed by prominent global writers, including no less than Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel, Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan. It was addressed to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Rule of Law Commissioner Frans Timmermans and Michel Magnier, director of Creative Europe.

PEN pointed out that there can be no tolerance for the mocking of the assassination of a journalist in the heart of the EU. Micallef had twisted Daphne’s last words “There are crooks everywhere you look” into “There are happy people everywhere you look”. He published this mindless sentence on Facebook. He also repeatedly pushed for the removal of banners calling for justice, as well as the tributes laid by the public at the Valletta memorial.

The PEN statement slammed Micallef’s behaviour. It pointed out that European culture includes the freedom to criticise, satirise and investigate those in power, and the role of the chairman of Valletta 2018 should be to safeguard this right, not to threaten it. “We believe this behaviour completely demeans the role and has profound implications for the integrity of the programme as a whole.” But Micallef simply ignored this and continued regardless.

The problem is that some people are unable to rise above their partisan and personal interests and see the bigger picture, which is that an investigative journalist, who stepped on toes, uncovered important stories and courageously held politicians to account, has been murdered in Malta. This is a major crime aiming to instill silence, as well as fear. It is a threat to society.

Following the PEN statement last week, 72 MEPs from across political groups in Europe followed suit and described Micallef’s behaviour as “undignified” and “unacceptable”, calling for his removal as Valletta 2018 chairman.

The words ‘accountability’, ‘integrity’, and ‘political responsibility’ must return to the vocabulary of our government. Too many people in positions of power seem to have forgotten about their existence or meaning. And add ‘transparency’ to that.

petracdingli@gmail.com

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