Malta’s Cabinet of ministers has rejected requests for presidential pardons by Vince Muscat and Alfred and George Degiorgio. 

In a statement, the government said that the pardon requests had been rejected on the advice of the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner.

“In addition to being based on the advice of the relevant institutions, the decision is also in the interest of justice and the national interest,” the government said in a statement. 

The statement added that Minister Carmelo Abela, who has been linked to one of the crimes that the criminals have promised to reveal information about, recused himself from the discussions. 

Vince Muscat, who admitted to his role in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia has already been granted one presidential pardon and has turned state witness in the Caruana Galizia case and that of the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015. 

Last month he requested a second pardon to reveal information about the involvement of past and present members of Cabinet in the 2010 HSBC heist as well as a number of other crimes. 

The Degiorgio’s stand accused of assassinating the journalist and have requested a pardon in order to reveal the identity of an as yet unidentified mastermind in the murder, who they claim to have been a sitting minister at the time. 

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family have been vociferously opposed to granting the men a pardon, arguing that the mechanism allowed criminals to walk free in lieu of proper police work.

What do you make of Cabinet’s decision?