Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/890548
maltatoday SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2017 2 News MATTHEW VELLA THE government yesterday an- nounced it was offering a €1 million reward for information leading to the identification of those respon- sible for Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination. In a statement, the government said that it was fully committed to solving the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and bringing those responsible to justice. "This is a case of extraordinary importance and requires extraor- dinary measures – and justice must be done, whatever the cost. In an unprecedented measure, the gov- ernment is offering a €1 million reward to anyone who can give the Police information leading to the identification of the person or per- sons responsible for this murder," the government said. Whoever comes forward with information will be given full pro- tection when testifying under oath in front of an inquiring magistrate, and in all subsequent stages of the criminal procedures. It will not be up to the govern- ment to decide whether the infor- mation or testimony is sufficient, credible or complete. Instead, the point of reference will be the Mag- isterial Inquiry Report, an act of the independent judicial authority. The government said that in- formants could also make use of the Whistleblower's Act and other ancillary amendments, which were passed during the previous legisla- ture by anyone who, despite his or her involvement, intends to col- laborate with the Police in order to identify the culprit. Reward conditions The government is offering the €1 million bounty to anyone who provides the police with concrete information which could lead to the identification of those responsible for the homicide of Daphne Caru- ana Galizia – whether murderer or accomplice – which happened on 16 October 2017. This offer is made with the condi- tion that whoever provides infor- mation will have to tell the truth and the whole truth, testifying under oath about everything they know about this homicide in front of the inquiring magistrate and dur- ing all the stages of the criminal procedures. A person with information about the homicide, who is not willing to testify in order to keep their identity confidential, may pass the informa- tion to the Police and still qualify for the reward. However, for this to happen, it must result from the report of the magisterial inquiry that the infor- mation has concretely and factu- ally led to the identification of those who should respond to the accusa- tion about the homicide, and that this information can be confirmed to be genuine on the basis of other independent proof. The payment of the reward will be based solely on whether the re- port of the magisterial inquiry states the testimony, or the information given, was credible and led to the identification of those who have to respond to the accusation about the homicide. Whoever wants to come forward with information can phone 22942008 or email crimeinfo.police@gov.mt Victim's family refused to endorse reward Earlier this week on Wednesday, Caruana Galizia's eldest son Mat- thew said on Facebook that the family had refused to endorse the reward. In a lengthy Facebook post, he said the Prime Minister was only interested in his reputation. "We are not interested in justice with- out change," he said, calling out the Prime Minister for "demon- ising" his mother and "creating the conditions" for the murder to happen. Caruana Galizia said the family would only endorse a reward if Jo- seph Muscat, the Commissioner of Police Lawrence Cutajar, At- torney General Peter Grech re- signed. "We are not interested in justice without change," Caruana Galizia wrote on his post. "We are not interested in a crim- inal conviction only for the people in government who stood to gain from our mother's murder to turn around and say that justice has been served. Justice, beyond crim- inal liability, will only be served when everything that our mother fought for – political accountabil- ity, integrity in public life and an open and free society – replaces the desperate situation we are in. "The Prime Minister asked for our endorsement. This is how he can get it: show political respon- sibility and resign. Resign for fail- ing to uphold our fundamental freedoms. Resign for watching over the birth of a society domi- nated by fear, mistrust, crime and corruption. Resign for working to cripple our mother financially and dehumanise her so brutally and effectively that she no longer felt safe walking down the street." The Facebook post was signed off by Daphne Caruana Galizia's three sons, and not her husband, Peter Caruana Galizia. Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination €1 million reward for information on Caruana Galizia assassination The Maltese government has offerred a €1 million reward for information leading to the identification of those responsible for Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder Police take no chances on all potential suspects A thorough search of all poten- tial suspects has been drawn up by police with a special focus on individuals who were targeted by Daphne Caruana Galizia in her blog for connections with drugs, prostitution and fuel smuggling. Police sources have told Malta- Today they were not excluding any line of investigation, although criminal motives might be far more of priority than a political motivation. "We are looking at a well- planned execution, with a bomb placed in the hired car she was driving and then detonated by use of a mobile after visual contact of the vehicle. "We are looking at a promon- tory next to Victoria lines over Ghajn Rihana, so the perpetrator would have noted the car exiting from the home and coming down the road. They would have also noticed whether the driver, in this case Caruana Galizia, was alone or with other people." Speaking on Xarabank on Fri- day, forensics expert John Ellul said that the people behind the bombing should be terrified to know that foreign specialists such as the FBI and Dutch forensic ex- perts were involved in the investi- gation. He added that somewhere along the line the perpetrators of this crime would have made a mistake. Last Monday journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed after leaving her home in Bidnija. Just minutes before, at 2:35pm, she had penned her last blog. Caruana Galizia was driving a hired Peugeot 108 and as she drove down Bidnija Road, the car bomb was exploded. A Bidnija farmer who was driving up the road saw said he heard two explo- sions. In the first, white smoke appeared and pieces from the car fell to the ground. In the second explosion the car exploded as flames engulfed it. The car landed in a farm and narrowly missed the witness's car. Shocked but still in control, the farmer phoned emergency 112 and the police were soon on the scene. The body of Caruana Gali- zia lay burning in the car, body parts strewn all over the terrain. Very soon after, Caruana Galizia's son appeared on the scene to dis- cover his slain mother and to be told by the police they could do nothing. A badly damaged laptop has been retrieved from the car and so has a damaged mobile. The bomb is believed to have been triggered by a mobile phone from someone who had a clear line of vision from a promontory