In 2021, the public inquiry into Daphne’s assassination concluded that the Maltese State must shoulder responsibility for her death - but, four years on, almost nothing has changed, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation said on Tuesday.

“The final report was delivered to the Prime Minister on 29 July 2021, but most of its recommendations are still outstanding, leaving journalists at risk,” the foundation said in a statement.

“The purpose of the inquiry was for the State to understand its failures and to learn how it must change to prevent future deaths. This isn’t just a moral choice. It’s a legal obligation: a State has a positive obligation to protect lives,” it said.

The public inquiry concluded that the Maltese State must shoulder responsibility for Daphne’s assassination because among other things it failed to protect Daphne when there was a real and immediate risk to her life and it actively increased the dangers which Daphne faced by isolating, dehumanising, financially crippling, and discrediting her, despite her investigations into government corruption being supported by evidence, as confirmed by the public inquiry.

“The Office of the Prime Minister fostered a culture of impunity that "spread like an octopus" throughout the entire State and its regulatory bodies, enabling those exposed by Daphne’s reporting to retaliate without consequence,” the foundation said.

It said that high-level corruption created a powerful network of interests within government and business that shared a common interest: to “neutralise” Daphne’s reporting and to protect those responsible for her murder.

The foundation added that the inquiry confirmed that the Office of the Prime Minister led an "orchestrated plan" to undermine the political impact of Daphne’s reporting, a groundbreaking confirmation of the crucial role political propaganda played in her death.

It also noted that based on witness testimony, senior Government officials sought to mislead Police investigators and journalists in the aftermath of Daphne’s assassination, in an effort to help the culprits escape justice and media pressure.

“If implemented effectively, the public inquiry’s recommendations could change the face of Maltese democracy, restore the rule of law, heal the country’s trauma, and make Daphne’s the first and last assassination of a journalist in Malta,” the foundation said.

Yet, according to an 8-page brief drafted by the foundation, almost all of the recommendations remain unimplemented.

Out of the recommendations for the introduction of new crimes and consolidation of existing laws, none have been fully implemented.  Only one – a revision to the Attorney General law to fully reflect recommendations from the Venice Commission – has been partially implemented, the foundation said.

Others, such as introducing unexplained wealth orders; criminalising public officials attempting to hinder authorities from doing their duty; criminalising mafia-style association; criminalising abuse of office; and introducing the crime of the obstruction of justice, have not been implemented at all.

The foundation noted that when it comes to the protection of journalists, a formal structure within the police to identify which persons, not just journalists, would be exposed to serious attacks of all kinds and for any reason which may escalate to physical violence had in fact been created, and so has a new focus on journalist safety within the police.

Recommendations to recognise journalism as one of the pillars of a democratic society on a constitutional level and to set up a fully autonomous and impartial constitutional role of Commissioner for Journalistic Ethics have also not been implemented.  Neither have constitutional revisions to how the Broadcasting Authority works.

The inquiry had also said that “the distribution of public funds spent on advertising should be fair, equal and non-discriminatory” – something which the foundation said had not been implemented.

It also noted that an Association of Media Owners set up in December 2023 was “a move in the opposite direction to this recommendation.” “The main opposition party’s and the governing party’s media companies are members of the association, effectively putting the government on both sides of the negotiating table - a situation that will not be remedied if the governing party is replaced by the one currently in opposition,” the foundation said.

The public inquiry had also recommended a law which provides “an organisational framework in which journalists may operate freely and totally independent from interference or undue pressure, which should ensure that the profession is self-regulated and entrusted with the safeguarding of the ethical standards of the profession with powers to take disciplinary measures where necessary.”

The foundation said that this has not been implemented and said furthermore that it objected to the “use of a warrant or membership of a group to identify professional journalists who therefore enjoy legal protection.”

The foundation said that it had disagreed with how the government had implemented the recommendation for the Establishment of a Committee of Experts because “heads of independent newsrooms were appointed by the Prime Minister and paid by the Government to be on the committee.”

Finally, the inquiry had also called on the State to “formally and publicly acknowledge the serious failings in the public administration…which enabled the development of de facto impunity that could facilitate the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.”

The foundation said that the Prime Minister had issued a public apology on 29 July 2021 – the day he received the public inquiry report – but the said that the promises that Robert Abela had made at this press conference have not been fulfilled.

“State contrition is not a one-time act, but must be a sustained course of action leading to positive and permanent change. No other speech, comment, or publication - whether by the PM or members of his cabinet, or their representatives - has taken ownership of the State’s failures identified by the public inquiry or acknowledged that Daphne’s assassination could and should have been prevented,” the foundation said.