Daphne Caruana Galizia was a crusader against corruption, Ken Toko, deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Malta, said Monday.

“She was an amazing woman, a remarkable journalist… because of the principles she stood for,” he said.

Toko was speaking to TMI during a vigil held in memory of the journalist who was killed in a car bomb on 16 October, 2017, close to her home in Bidnija.

Earlier on Monday, the US has issued a statement sayingthat “the United States consistently advocates for rule of law reforms worldwide that create a safe and enabling environment for journalists”.

Toko said that it is important to keep alive the things that Caruana Galizia stood for, which are rule of law, transparency in society and a society free of corruption, “a society in which journalists can work without fear for their own safety”.

“These are basic principles to any democracy that the United States advocates (for) around the world, including here in Malta,” he concluded.