Authorities have discussed the possibility of granting a presidential pardon to the three men accused of killing journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia if they reveal everything they know, but believe it is “still early days” to make any kind of decision.
Investigators told the Times of Malta they had little hope that the men would cooperate with them, despite the “suggestion” of a presidential pardon already having been made during interrogation.
“They are tight-lipped and haven’t said a word,” the sources said.
“These people believe in keeping silent, they have a code of honour which is worth a lot to them, and while it is still early days, we don’t have much faith that they will be assisting us.”
They added that the men had not flinched when the possibility of a pardon was intimated to them during interrogation, barely saying a word throughout the roughly 40 hours of questioning.
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No one in the criminal world thought these guys would be brought to justice
George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat were arrested on Monday and charged with the murder of Ms Caruana Galizia the following day.
The authorities’ internal discussions also briefly raised the possibility of issuing a pardon if it turned out that the three men had in fact been commissioned to carry out the murder by a middleman.
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“If there is a middleman or third party involved, we would only consider a pardon if this person or people were to give us everything. We would need to know who wanted to have Ms Caruana Galizia killed and all details,” the sources said.
Investigators yesterday said the arrests and nationwide operation on Monday had sent shockwaves throughout the criminal world.
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“We have been after these guys for a very long time. They are some of, if not the most dangerous men in Malta. No one in the criminal world thought they would be brought to justice,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, the Times of Malta reported this week that the investigation that had led to the three men being charged in court had also given the police a breakthrough on how to handle such cases.
Police sources yesterday said that the FBI tools used to crack this case could be used to crack previous car bomb cases.
Police found seven other mobile phones other than those used in the murder of Ms Caruana Galizia.