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February 24th, 2021 
Awake Goy 
Anti-corruption activists in Malta say the sentencing of a suspect in the murder trial of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia could be a breakthrough in the fight against organised crime.
Galizia exposed political corruption and cronyism on the island and was killed in a car bomb attack in 2017. Now one of three defendants has admitted the killing, and says he’ll give evidence against the others involved.
Rebecca Vincent is Director of International Campaigns at Reporters Without Borders in London. She says that European nations aren’t doing enough to protect the rights and security of journalists.
“What we have seen is a systematic failing in Malta, in the heart of the EU. Daphne’s assassination shed light on systemic failings with regard to rule of law and democratic institutions. What we need to see now is more action by other states to press for justice for Daphne and active protection of other journalists.”
Journalists across the globe are routinely subject to threats and intimidation in the course of their work.
Euronews correspondent Shona Murray spoke to Sunday World reporter Patricia Devlin who has been targeted for her work in Northern Ireland.
Devlin received death threats and threats to harm her family after reporting on the murder of a man in East Belfast.
“I received a message to my personal Facebook account in which the sender threatened to rape my newborn son. That was reported to the police [but] there has still be no arrests,” she told Euronews.
There are concerns that growing political divisions within Northern Ireland could make the situation worse for journalists.
“I just would wish that things would get better. Not everybody is going to be a fan of what you write and that’s fair enough. But you don’t have to threaten people and threaten their children,” Devlin said.
“This has impacted how I carry out my job because I can’t go into certain areas. And most of the time, people who talk to me, can’t talk to me over the phone, including victims of intimidation. But it’s not going to put me off carrying on. The one good thing that’s come out of this is that I’ve seen the support that I’ve received for what I do.”
To watch the full report, click on the media player above.
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