Caruana Galizia: 'One-woman WikiLeaks' who exposed Malta's shady side

Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who fearlessly exposed corruption in her Mediterranean archipelago, was murdered with a car bomb in 2017. Her final blog entry, posted minutes before her death, lamented the prevalence of corruption. Nearly a decade later, her killer remains unknown. Five men were convicted for the bombing, but the mastermind remains elusive.

Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech, accused of orchestrating her murder, was acquitted by a court last year, despite being arrested on his yacht the previous year. Caruana Galizia, who worked as a columnist for several Maltese media outlets, gained notoriety through her blog, Running Commentary, which reached over 400,000 readers. Dubbed the "one-woman WikiLeaks," she remained steadfast against attempts to silence her.

Survived by her family, she inspired a collective effort of 45 journalists from 18 outlets in the Daphne Project, continuing her investigations. Her assassination brought corruption to the forefront, forcing the resignation of then-prime minister Joseph Muscat in 2020. Despite Muscat's successor, Robert Abela, being re-elected later that year, the political crisis continued.