The Caruana Galizia family have filed Constitutional proceedings against the Prime Minister, asking that he desist from further involvement in the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and place his own involvement in the case under the court’s scrutiny.

In a judicial protest filed this morning, the family say that Keith Schembri, who “up till a few minutes before his arrest,” occupied the position of Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and who had occupied this position for several years, had been present for meetings with the Security Services and was aware of information passed on to the Prime Minister about the investigation.

Keith Schembri was mentioned as part of the murder plot by Yorgen Fenech, and was mentioned as having passed notes to Fenech, said the family.

During the course of the investigation, Minister Chris Cardona was also arrested and questioned.

The Prime Minister was involving himself in various aspects of the ongoing investigation and “it appears that he has chosen to continue doing so until January 2020 at least.”

All this ate away at the right to an effective investigation into the murder by casting a shadow over the investigations, amounting to a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as incorporated into Maltese law.

The family asked the Prime Minister to desist from further involvement of any kind in the criminal investigation, criminal proceedings and the process appointed for the Public Inquiry.

Finally, they requested that the Prime Minister himself and his behaviour be investigated in order to preserve all the evidence.

Lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia, Eve Borg Costanzi, Jason Azzopardi and Peter Caruana Galizia signed the judicial protest.