journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia arriving at the Law Court in Malta. Capuana Galizia was killed today on October 16, 2017 in a car bomb close to her home in Bidnija, Malta. The force of the blast broke her car into several pieces and catapulted the journalist’s body into a nearby field, witnesses said. She leaves a husband and three sons. Caruana Galizia’s death comes four months after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Labour Party won a resounding victory in a general election he called early as a result of scandals to which Caruana Galizia’s allegations were central.
Matthew Mirabelli / AFP

Maltese authorities have arrested eight people in connection with the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in a statement Monday.

Blogger Caruana Galizia, who was 53 when she was killed in a car bomb attack on October 16, had made repeated and detailed corruption allegations against both Muscat’s inner circle and the opposition.

Muscat said police and the military were involved in an operation following a weeks-long investigation into the high-profile murder.

“During this operation, 8 persons were arrested” the statement said, adding that they faced “reasonable suspicion in connection with involvement in the murder” of Caruana Galizia.

All the suspects were Maltese nationals, Muscat’s statement added.

AFP