David Casa asks Brussels to express itself on government’s systemic threat to media freedom

Nationalist Party MEP David Casa has asked the European Commission to express itself on accusations that “the Maltese government is directly implicated in a systemic threat to the rule of law and media freedom”.

In a European Parliamentary Question, Mr Casa observes that under the EU Treaties, the bloc is founded on freedom, democracy, pluralism and the rule of law.

“These values have long been under threat in Malta, where a long series of concerted attacks on media freedom have shown the Maltese government to be complicit in the steady denigration of the rule of law, Mr Casa observes.

He says in his question that this “systematic campaign against media freedom” includes, but is not limited to:

The harassment of journalist Mario Frendo by the police

The issuing of a garnishee order against journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by a Minister

Allegations of abuse of Broadcasting Authority employees by chairperson Tanya Borg Cardona leading to a strike of employees

Attacks by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi on independent media as “fake news” for asking questions about the Panama scandal

Numerous instances of “harassment and abuse of journalists by government-paid blogger in the Office of the Prime Minister” Glenn Bedingfield and

Instances of gagging of independent and opposition media by the Prime Minister, Ministers, government MPs and government staff (including the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri).