Daphne Caruana Galizia: the Council of Europe publishes the last interview on the third anniversary of the murder. “I am a scapegoat”

A “scapegoat”: this is what Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Malta-born investigative journalist murdered in yet unexplained circumstances (the instigator of the murder has not been found out yet) three years ago, on 16th October 2017, must have felt like – and defined herself.

To coincide with the anniversary of her death, many initiatives have been taken to commemorate her: in particular, the Council of Europe, to pay tribute to her and “raise awareness of the dangers that journalists have to face in their profession”, published the last interview given by the journalist, in a booklet. “A Mission to Inform: Journalists at Risk Speak Out” is a survey promoted by the CoE, edited by Marilyn Clark and William Horsley: the interview that has been revealed today took place on 6th October 2017, just 10 days before the attack, part of a project that includes 20 interviews with journalists from all the member states of the Council of Europe. The purpose of the survey was to shed light on the threats and pressures that journalists have to face in Europe. The version of the interview published in English today has been edited by Clark and Horsley themselves. According to the editors, the interview “is a first story of the way the journalist, leader writer and blogger, had been exposed for years to physical, psychological, legal and financial harassment and threats from many people who tried to dissuade her” from doing her job. Her words “are a powerful proof of the climate of fear” in which many journalists work.Valentina Bombelli