The death of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who exposed alleged corruption in her home country through the leaked Panama Papers, is a savage blow to press freedom and investigative journalism.
Caruana Galizia had reportedly just driven away from ther home on the island nation when a bomb exploded in her car. She ran the popular blog Running Commentary in which she highlighted cases of alleged corruption, targeting politicians and the criminal underworld.
She had been a stern critic of the country's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, but he yesterday denounced the "barbaric attack". Other political figures have already claimed the killing was politically motivated, and linked to Caruana Galizia's reporting.
Many of Caruana Galizia's articles and posts delved into the Panama Papers - a cache of 11.5 million leaked documents from offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca which exposed the identities of rich and powerful people around the world who allegedly had holdings in Panama. The data, obtained by a German newspaper, was shared around the world last year - and the implications were quickly felt here.
![Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed on Monday when a bomb destroyed her car. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/3MNFX7EMDIRLW7P4ZVOPYDFE7I.jpg?auth=63c69c8a553cee69158a5794382752f9dabb6b7be24777127880758def5d4769&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)