President of NGO Repubblika Robert Aquilina alleged that Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa has evidence of two people who obstructed the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigations in hand.

Aquilina addressed a protest held on Sunday, where he issued a challenge to Prime Minister Robert Abela, a challenge to the Police Commissioner, and a challenge to the Attorney General.

Aquilina said that the country has seen the same level of impunity under the current Police Commissioner as was witnessed under his predecessor. "He didn't act on political corruption, nor on top police officials who obstructed the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigations."

Aquilina said that he is informed that Commissioner Angelo Gafa has, in hand, enough evidence to act on at least two individuals who obstructed police investigations into the assassination, but is not taking criminal action against them, alleging that one of these people is former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.

Aquilina challenged Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa to call a press conference and "and say whether what I am alleging is true or not."

During a protest held in Valletta, he also spoke about the court judgement last week regarding Magistrate Nadine Lia, forcibly removing her from hearing the Pilatus Bank challenge case. Repubblika had taken the case to court after the magistrate refused to recuse herself despite being married to the son of lawyer Pawlu Lia, who served as lawyer to former prime minister Joseph Muscat and his chief of staff Keith Schembri. The State Advocate has as indicated that it intends to appeal that decision.

Aquilina was speaking about the state of the country, and issued a challenge to the Prime Minister. "A challenge he can only accept if he does not have pacts with Joseph Muscat. A challenge that he can only meet if he really has the political strength he says he does."

Aquilina said that aside from Nadine Lia being appointed to the position of magistrate, Pawlu Lia was appointed to the Commission for the Administration of Justice. This is a state entity established through the constitution with strong powers. It is the organ that has the function of disciplining and recommending the removal of magistrates and judges, he said, "the same members of the judiciary Pawlu Lia appears before as an advocate... the same members of the judiciary who Joseph Muscat appears before."

He invited Abela to take the steps "any person who has a sense of integrity would," and remove Pawlu Lia from the Commission.

"I invite the Prime Minister to show us, factually, that he is the one who commands, and not the person who put him in his chair."

Aquilina also "challenged" the Prime Minister to "stop obsessively controlling" PBS.

He said that as the situation is currently, discussions on current affairs "disappeared from the national station."

"Those programmes that try to hold some form of discussion, are tied to having to inform the station's leadership 15 days before of the programme's subject and of the prospective invitees. They thought they were administering the History Channel, not a station meant for current affairs," he said.

"These are the actions of a dictatorial government."

Aquilina then spoke of the Attorney General. Aquilina said that he had presented extracts from the Pilatus Bank magisterial inquiry, and that the inquiring magistrate had ordered the police and the Attorney General to take criminal procedures against the bank and its officials. "But they only took steps against the bank and one of these people."

Because of this, he said, Repubblika had to initiate a case so that the court would order the commissioner and attorney general to proceed as ordered in the inquiry. "Over the past days, information reached me that the Attorney General, over the past months, signed a document ordering that two of the people who the inquiring magistrate ordered be take to court, not be taken to court. "This document is being kept secret."

He said that Repubblika has long been calling for the AG's resignation. He challenged the Attorney General to tell the truth about the 'secret document' and to face journalists.

Pia Zammit, from Occupy Justice, also spoke.

She spoke of how Liz Truss, the UK's Prime Minister, resigned, yet in Malta people in Malta find it so difficult to do so. 

"When we do have a resignation, we must first have angry protests. It is as though it has become the duty of common persons to, every time, remind people in power to do their jobs well."

"We say that in Malta we don't have a culture of resignations. This is not about culture. This is a question of duty. There is a duty for there to be resignations. If we mess up on the job, they will ask for a resignation. If there is no resignation, then they are fired. That is how it should be."

A message from Scottish PEN was also read out.