BRUSSELS (AP) — Council of Europe lawmakers have adopted a report criticizing the investigation into the assassination of a leading Maltese investigative journalist and calling for a public inquiry in the case.

The report adopted Wednesday by a committee of the People's Assembly of the Council of Europe says investigations into the Oct. 16, 2017, slaying of Daphne Caruana Galizia "are proceeding at a glacial pace."

Three Maltese men are believed to have triggered the powerful car bomb that killed 53-year-old Caruana Galizia on a road close to her rural home. They were ordered in December 2017 to stand trial for murder but the case has not started and they could soon be released.

Nobody has been arrested for ordering the assassination of Caruana Galizia, who reported on widespread allegations of corruption in Malta.