PN MP Michael Piccinino has taken aim at Culture Minister Malcolm Paul Agius Galea in Parliament after the minister refused to say for definite that Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered because of her journalistic work.Speaking during today’s urgent parliamentary debate following Yorgen Fenech’s acquittal, Piccinino linked Agius Galea’s comments to the government’s record on legislation intended to strengthen the protection of journalists.“They also voted against it, Mr Speaker. Against a law that protects journalists,” Piccinino said.“I have to admit that throughout these four years, I could never understand why the Labour Party voted against a law that protects journalists.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lovin Malta (@lovinmalta)Piccinino then turned directly to comments Agius Galea had made to journalists outside Parliament just minutes earlier.“Perhaps I began to understand their reasoning a few minutes ago, when the minister responsible for PBS told journalists that he wasn’t certain, that he did not believe Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed because she was a journalist.”Agius Galea had been asked whether journalists were less safe following Fenech’s acquittal, to which he responded: “No, I don’t think so.”When a journalist told him that Caruana Galizia had been killed because she was a journalist, Agius Galea pushed back.“But that’s what you’re saying,” the minister responded, before stressing the need to be “very careful”.Agius Galea also used the hypothetical example of a murdered doctor, arguing that if someone claimed the person had been killed because they were a doctor, he would not necessarily know whether that was the reason.Piccinino strongly rejected that position in Parliament.“Mr Speaker, throughout 55 days of the trial, the prosecution and the defence agreed on nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he said.“Except for one thing: both sides said that Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed because of what she wrote.”“Everyone in this country knows that, except the minister responsible for the media.”Piccinino said the minister’s remarks made him even more concerned about the government’s approach towards protecting journalists.“Not only did this government vote against protecting journalists, but you now have the minister who is supposed to be responsible for the sector speaking against this and trying to justify how Daphne was killed for some other reason, rather than because of her work,” he said.Agius Galea’s comments have already sparked backlash, with rule of law NGO Repubblika describing them as “omertà” and calling on the government to withdraw them.They also stand against the findings of the 2021 public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s assassination, which found that the State bore responsibility for creating a culture of impunity which facilitated her assassination and examined the risks she faced as a result of her investigative journalism.What do you make of Piccinino’s response?•