The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, with the support of the European Parliament, is a tribute to the Maltese investigative journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated in October 2017. It rewards, on a yearly basis, outstanding journalism that promotes or defends the core principles and values of the European Union, such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights. This news item shows footage from the ceremony of the prize and the statement by the laureate.

Strasbourg

plenary session

ceremony

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

PICIERNO, Pina (S&D, IT)

Daphne Caruana Galizia prize for journalism (T)

Delivery EE2024 (T)

Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism 2023: extracts from the ceremony; and statement by the laureate

Arrival of attendants and guests to the ceremony (5 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, It will be the third time that we award the Daphne Caruana Galizia prize for Journalism. Congratulations to all the laureates and the future winner. I know that you know the big voice that you need to help fill, and this Parliament will help you do that.

Cutaways of the announcement of the winner, Solomon, Forensis, ARD, The Guardian, of Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Jounalism 2023 (5 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Iliana PAPANGELI, 2023 Daphne Caruana Galizia, On behalf of Solomon, Forensis, The Guardian, F/ARD and all the coauthors of this investigation. And we would like to thank the jury organizers in the European Parliament for this honor. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a fearless journalist who dedicated her life to speaking up against the abuse of state power and corruption. With her work, she showed us that words have the power to hold governments and people to account. It is an honor to be connected to her name and her legacy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Iliana Papangeli, 2023 Daphne Caruana Galizia, We hope this award helps bring recognition to survivors and the people who lost family members and loved ones in the shipwreck, and that these deaths have not gone unnoticed and will not go unpunished.

Cutaways of the family photo during the ceremony (3 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Stavros MALICHUDIS, Chief Editor Solomon Project,, So we basically reconstructed the route of the vessel. And we also found discrepancies in the official narrative about what had happened, because the official narrative was that the boat was full of people. The people didn't want help. And somehow it capsized. But our reporting showed that the boat had signaled an SOS, many hours before the Greek authorities knew about the condition of the boat. Frontex, for its part, had offered three times to help but was ignored. And this led to what the survivors described as a towing of the boat. And what our investigation found is that when we heard any survivors talking about the rope, with which their boat was towed, some referred to a blue rope. And we managed to find out the specific vessel who was present in the incident of the Coast Guard really uses a blue rope.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stavros MALICHUDIS, Chief Editor Solomon Project, I think it's very important that the European Parliament really can show support to journalism. I think that especially in my country, where we experienced this surveillance scandal, this was one of the last hopes that you can really see some structures of our society that really work. But from the other side, I think that the fact that the Daphne Caruana Galizia prize is given to this investigation, which is which again points to mismanagement also from the EU authorities and to some consequences of EU policies, I think that it's very at least reassuring that, you know, we can continue pointing towards the bad practices of our societies.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stavros MALICHUDIS, Chief Editor Solomon Project,For us, it's a great honor to be associated even with the name of Daphne Caruana Galizia. We know her work. We know the kind of pressure she went through. We honour her, of course. And we as young journalists, you know, this is the kind of work we also want to do and to serve the public. I think this kind of prizes, they give you a reassurance that, you know, you can continue working, that your your work might have some impact and that not everything is lost.

Cutaways of the interview with Stavros MALICHUDIS, Chief Editor Solomon Project (8 shots)