In a rare public statement, former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has said that greater effort is needed to uncover the “web of evil” that led to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Referring to court proceedings on Thursday, where hitman Vince Msucat went into excruciating detail as to how the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was allegedly committed, Gonzi said that the account must serve as a strong wake-up call for whoever is just and whoever loves the country.

“The macabre and crude account of how and why this assassination took place not only breaks the hearts of the Caruana Galizia family, but is also a strong wake up call to whoever is just and whoever loves our country”, Gonzi, who served as Prime Minister between 2004 and 2013, said.

“If our country truly wants to find any form of healing, there is a need for greater effort from everyone so that this web of evil is fully uncovered and that justice is done so that this nightmare can be exorcised once and for all.”

He said that we cannot remain silent before the allegations that Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination was ordered because she was going to publish some details.

“You don’t need to be wise to reach certain conclusions.”

He referred to an opinion piece he wrote on the Malta Independent on 22 October 2017 – six days after the assassination – where he asked whether in that moment of darkness we could dare hope for a better future. 

“I still believe that our country has the backbone to find a sliver of hope for a cleaner and better future”, he concluded.