It would be naïve in the extreme to think that Maria Efimova’s tormentors will give up now. Today’s decision in Greece slows them down but she’s nowhere near out of the woods.

Think about it. The brutal elimination of Daphne Caruana Galizia did not stop her sons’ torment, or her husband’s. No opportunity is lost by those so blind with hate that they feel no embarrassment for their appalling behaviour.

No sooner had the court in Greece rejected Malta’s request for extradition that talk of plan B started.

Maria Efimova’s hunters still have the option of putting pressure on the Cypriot authorities to revive their own extradition request on the back of a complaint filed last December by Maria Efimova’s Russian former employer that she worked for four years ago. They’re a jewellery importer who claimed, four years after Maria Efimova left their employ, that she defrauded them of tens of thousands of euro.

That complaint arose when someone went around briefing the Cyprus media saying Maria Efimova was wanted for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Maria Efimova’s lawyer was quoted by the Greek press that the Cypriot warrant was rejected by Interpol. Sources in the Cypriot home affairs authorities suggest there may be a different interpretation: that Cyprus’s request for extradition has been held back for the Maltese authorities to make their first attempt at getting Maria Efimova extradited.

Now that has failed, the Cypriot authorities may be reconsidering their position.

The stakes are very high for a number of people who will not rest until the people who are putting them in danger of being found out are somehow taken care of.

In the meantime here in Malta damage limitation and spin are the order of the day. Joseph Muscat’s aura of infallibility cannot afford to be tarnished.

As predicted Joseph Muscat told the press today the Greek court’s decision to refuse his government’s request to extradite her is insignificant. He brushed it off and kept his comments brief.

His henchmen however came out cannons blazing.

Josef Caruana, Joseph Muscat’s personal staffer and full-blown fascist propagandist posted one of the most disgusting Facebook posts you will likely ever see. He attempts to pin Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder on her eldest son and on her husband. They haven’t suffered enough hatred in her life. They are given the options her mother had: shut up or suffer.

And you think they’ll leave Maria Efimova alone?

Karl Stagno Navarra, Joseph Muscat’s Lord Haw Haw, posted that Maria Efimova’s release was due to David Casa’s manipulation of the Greek Court. A lot of credit for Maria Efimova’s reprieve today goes to David Casa. But to credit him with Rasputinian abilities to sway the mind of judges with Jedi mind tricks is a bit much.

This is the classic mystery of the PN as described by the Karl Stagno Navarra types. The Nationalists are unable to win the election of a hamlet where a Labour Mayor stacks up nuclear waste for money but somehow, outside of Malta, they secretly control the world. Joseph Muscat is infallible except when nasty David Casa uses his mind-bending super-powers on gullible barranin.

Brian Hansford has not started his breathless countdowns to anti-climax yet but I expect he will quite soon.

This has been ugly for some time. It is just turning a darker shade of black.