Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/893950
maltatoday SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2017 4 News MASSIMO COSTA PRESIDENT Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca yesterday in- sisted that Malta could not risk returning to the dark ages, when barbarity was tolerated and women were treated unequally. In a meeting with four Oc- cupy Justice representatives at the President's Palace in Valletta, the President said that there was no excuse for women to be attacked and subjected to any form of vio- lence. The representatives em- phasised the need for consti- tutional reform in the wake of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder, and maintained Malta was divided. Activists from the Occupy Justice group are currently camped outside Castille, put- ting forth the message that women will not be silenced in their battle for justice and equality. They are also demanding that concrete action be taken against government consult- ant and former GWU leader Tony Zarb, following dispar- aging comments Zarb made on Facebook against the ac- tivists. An activist wearing a T- shirt displaying Daphne Caruana Galizia's final blog message, "Crooks every- where. The situation is desperate", was later seen joining the meeting, which continued in private. THE Partit Demokratiku restated their views that Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder was political and a direct consequence of the political climate caused by a lack of governance, the erosion of the rule of law and the dismantling of the country's institutions. In a press release this morning, the party con- firmed its views that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposi- tion leader Adrian Delia should resign with imme- diate effect. The Police Commission- er and Attorney General should do the same, and their replacement ap- pointed with a 2/3 major- ity in parliament. Moreover, it maintained that the Standards in Public Life act as well as the Public Administra- tion Act should come into effect, and that a long- planned Constitutional Convention be held as soon as possible. It further noted that the murder took place at a time when Caruana Gali- zia was at her least popu- lar, with both the Labour and Nationalist parties actively participating in character assassination in her regard. PAUL COCKS THE mastermind behind the as- sassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is a ruthless and intelligent person – most probably a male – who took months to plan and implement the car bomb attack, and who had high-level contacts with or- ganised crime, an expert criminolo- gist has said. John Charles Ellul, former head of the police corps' Forensic labora- tory and now an assistant lecturer in Criminology at the University of Malta, told MaltaToday that to execute a bomb attack like the one which killed Caruana Galizia would have involved months of meticulous planning. "The decision to kill Daphne Caru- ana Galizia was definitely not a spur of the moment impulse and was cer- tainly not taken lightly," he said. Ellul said that the mastermind must have been aware of the conse- quences of his decision. "He would certainly have been aware that such a crime carries Malta's harshest penalty at law – life imprisonment – if caught and found guilty. He would also have been aware of the value of the hu- man life he was considering snuffing out," he said. "And yet, this ruthless person, still decided to go ahead and start making plans to have Daphne killed." Ellul said that the mastermind was probably a male, since very few women had the underworld contacts – or access to them – that would have been necessary to plan and im- plement such an attack. "The mastermind would also have been aware of the national upheaval Caruana Galizia's murder would generate, but ultimately was not phased by any of this," he said. Ellul insists that organised crime must have been involved in the at- tack and that top-tier underworld figures would have been involved in the decision as to whether to provide assistance, as well as the skilled op- erators and supplies, required. "If the mastermind acted alone, and only used underworld contacts to purchase the explosive and the related equipment, he would need to be a very fit person, quick on his feet and agile," he said. "He would not be too old, since he would need to move quickly when shadowing the victim, and when approaching her vehicle, planting the explosive and making his getaway." Ellul told MaltaToday that if the mastermind did not act alone, the other people involved would have been skilled operators, known only to a handful of the top figures in the criminal underworld. And they would not have been cheap. He said it was evident by the preci- sion of the attack on Caruana Galizia that this was not the work of street gutter thugs. "Gaining access to such a level of expertise is not easy, nor is even knowing whom to contact or ap- proach," he said. "The mastermind probably already had open channels to organised crime." Partit Demokratiku: Prime Minister, Opposition leader should resign immediately President meets Occupy Justice leaders: 'We cannot return to the dark ages' President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca during a meeting with representatives of Occupy Justice at the President's palace, Valletta, yesterday. Criminologist says 'top-tier' underworld mastermind could be behind assassination DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA MURDER Criminologist John Ellul (inset) says the car bombing that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia took meticulous planning and was not the work of street gutter thugs