Repubblika supports the call made by the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM) to the Maltese government for the latter to stop dragging its feet and to introduce anti-Slapp (strategic lawsuits against public participation) legislation without delay.
Apart from protecting journalists, this legislation also protects society from abuse by the financially powerful who would seek to threaten the right to information.
Four months after the Opposition put forward draft legislation against this abuse, the Government has not yet taken any action.
Repubblika reiterates that we Maltese are already victims of this abuse by Henley & Partners, the company engaged by the Maltese Government to sell our citizenship, which got what it wanted and proceeded to try and muzzle the voice of Maltese journalists by threatening them with SLAPP in 2017.
We will not forget what Henley & Partners and the owner of Pilatus Bank did to Daphne Caruana Galizia.
We will not forget what the owner of Sata Bank did to Manuel Delia and the Times of Malta.
We also note what Turab Musayev did to The Shift and others who wrote about him.
All this is intended to threaten us and our rights.
The Government is duty-bound to protect our rights and it is for this reason that Repubblika supports the call of the Institute of Maltese Journalists for effective protection against abuses by SLAPP.