Police in Malta have arrested 10 people in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the country’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Monday. Galizia, who led an investigation into the Panama Papers leaks pertaining to Malta, was killed in a bomb blast near her home on October 16.
The suspects were arrested from Marsa, Zebbug and Bugibba towns in Malta, Maltese daily The Malta Independent reported. All the arrested individuals are Maltese citizens. Some of the suspects were known to the police, and have been arrested on “reasonable suspicion” of their role in Galizia’s murder, the daily said.
In a press conference, Prime Minister Muscat said the suspects were arrested in a pre-planned operation involving the secret services, the police and the Armed Forces of Malta. The police have 48 hours to interrogate them and decide whether to frame charges, he said according to The Malta Independent. However, Muscat declined to provide further details on the case.
The daily also reported that Maltese Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia refused to divulge details of the investigation on account of the “legal threats” levelled against him by Galizia’s family. Last week, Farrugia had published a letter in which the journalist’s family accused him of sabotaging the inquiry into her murder.
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