Alfred and George Degiorgio have had a request for a presidential pardon rebuffed by Malta’s cabinet of ministers.

The two brothers, who stand accused of murdering journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, had filed the request on April 26, one week after their initial request was turned down. 

In a statement, the government said that ministers had decided on Monday to recommend that the pardon request be refused, in line with advice given by the attorney general and police commissioner. Official refusal will be communicated by the Office of the President. 

Minister Carmelo Abela, who the Degiorgios have allegedly implicated in a botched 2010 bank heist, recused himself from the pardon decision, as he had done when cabinet decided on the Degiorgios’ initial request. 

“Cabinet’s decision is based not only on the advice of relevant institutions, but also in the national interest and in the interest of justice,” the government statement said. 

The Degiorgio brothers claim to have information implicating a former minister as a mastermind in the Caruana Galizia murder as well as information about other serious crimes, including attempted robberies and a murder in which, they say, a former minister and sitting minister were involved.