A Maltese investigative journalist who exposed her island nation's links to offshore tax havens through the leaked Panama Papers
has been killed after a bomb exploded in her car.
Key points:
- The power of the explosion left Caruana Galizia's car blackened in a nearby field
- Officials quick to denounce the death as a "political murder"
- She revealed cases of Maltese government corruption in the 2016 leak
Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, had just driven away from her home in Mosta, a town outside Malta's capital of Valletta, when the bomb went off,
sending the vehicle's wreckage spiralling over a wall and into a field.
Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said her death resulted from a "barbaric attack" that also amounted to an assault on freedom of expression.
He described her as "was one of my harshest critics, on a political and personal level," as he denounced her slaying.
Politico named Caruana Galizia as one of 28 Europeans who are "shaping, shaking and stirring" Europe.
The 2016 Panama Papers leak exposed the identities of the rich and powerful around the world with offshore holdings in Panama.
As part of the investigation, Caruana Galizia revealed that Mr Muscat's wife Michelle, as well as members of his Government, held companies in Panama.
Mr Muscat and his wife deny they held such companies.
More here
Sadly, shooting the messenger.