EP President receives memento commemorating Daphne Caruana Galizia on World Press Freedom Day

On the occasion of yesterday’s World Press Freedom Day, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani received a memento commemorating slain investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and her struggle for truth from Maltese artist Kevin Scerri in the presence of the murdered journalist’s parents.

“A country can call itself democratic only if journalists and media can work in a free and independent environment, acting as guardians of the rule of law,” Tajani said during the ceremony.

He lamented the fact that too many media representatives – including in Europe – still suffered hostility, censorship, violence, and physical and financial threats.

Tajani referred to the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters without Borders (RSF), which measures the level of media freedom in 180 countries:

“Hostility towards the media, openly encouraged by political leaders, and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to export their vision of journalism, pose a threat to democracies.

“Malta, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovakia have registered a sudden worsening of their press freedom indicators. Two cases in particular call for our immediate concern and action: the hideous murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak, who have lost their lives because of their heroic quest for truth.

“They were courageous people and fine journalists, and were not afraid to do whatever was needed to fulfil their duty and to defend our values.

“To honour and remember their commitment to media freedom, we should introduce a European Parliament annual prize for investigative journalism named after both of them. Daphne and Jan, we have not forgotten you. We will not forget you. The European Parliament will continue to echo the strong voice of 500 million citizens looking for justice. We don’t just want the name of the killers, we want the name of the instigators.

“For this, I call on the Maltese and Slovak authorities to spare no effort in shedding full light on what has happened, including through the necessary international co-operation with law enforcement authorities.

“Unfortunately, Daphne and Jan are not the only recent victims of the hatred against free press. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 28 other media representatives have been killed so far in 2018 – nine of which in the hideous recent terrorist attack in Kabul on 30 April.

“Let me remember and praise all of them:

Jefferson Pureza; Paul Rivas; Javier Ortega; Vijay Singh; Navin Mischal; Sandeep Sharma; Carlos Dominguez Rodriguez; Angel Gahona; Zeeshan Ashraf Butt; Ahmed Abou Hussein; Yaser Mutaja; Abdullah Al Qadri; Mohamed Al Qadesi; Pamika Montenegro; Bashar al Attar; Abdullah Rahaman al Yacine; Efrain Segarra; Khaled Hamo; Oussama Salem; Salimi Ali; Talash Salim; Fezi Shah Marai; Rajabi Noroz Ali; Rasoli Ghazi; Darani Maharam; Kakeker Sabvon; Hananzavi Ebadollah; Tokhi yar Mohammad.

“My thoughts are with them and their families.”