Malta's ex-PM drops libel suit in journalist murder case

- The libel suit originated from a 2020 Facebook comment by lawyer Christian Grima, who, in response to a video of Muscat's wife Michelle, wrote, "Your husband blew her up." Muscat dropped the case after Grima clarified in court that the comment was not literal but meant to hold Muscat responsible for fostering a "culture of impunity" that led to the assassination. - A landmark 2021 public inquiry found the Maltese state must "shoulder responsibility" for the journalist's murder. The 437-page report concluded that a culture of impunity, created by the highest levels of government under Muscat, made the assassination predictable and preventable. - At the time of her death, Caruana Galizia was investigating leaked data from the Panama Papers, which revealed that Muscat's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, and a senior minister, Konrad Mizzi, owned secret offshore companies. - Caruana Galizia had also reported on a mysterious Dubai-based company called 17 Black, which was later revealed to be owned by prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech. Leaked emails indicated 17 Black planned to make large payments to the Panama companies owned by Schembri and Mizzi. - Yorgen Fenech, a director of the Electrogas consortium which was awarded a major energy contract by Muscat's government, is now awaiting trial, accused of masterminding the murder. Muscat resigned in late 2019 following Fenech's arrest and the exposure of his close ties to Keith Schembri. - While several hitmen and bomb suppliers have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the murder, international press freedom organizations continue to criticize Malta for the slow pace of judicial proceedings and reforms aimed at protecting journalists.