Watch: George Degiorgio pardon to be considered 'in most serious manner' - PM
Robert Abela says pardon request has not been presented to cabinet yet
Convicted killer George Degiorgio’s request for a pardon will “be considered in the most serious manner”, if it is for the sake of justice, Prime Minister Robert Abela has said.
Abela was speaking following revelations that Degiorgio wants a presidential pardon to reveal information about the gangland killing of Jonathan Pace, known as the operator of Tyson Butcher.
Degiorgio is serving a 40-year prison sentence for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 and a life sentence for his involvement in the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015. He wants his 40-year term reduced to 15 years in exchange for giving police information that would help them solve various cold cases.
Reacting to the request on Friday evening, Abela said his government has always used the power to grant presidential pardons for the sake of justice.
“Consistently, the cabinet, since 2020 has used that very important power to discover who was behind very serious cases. In those instances, people were brought before the court and justice was delivered for the victims," Abela said.
Robert Abela’s cabinet has used its pardoning powers for Vince Muscat whose testimony helped sentence the killers of lawyer Carmel Chircop.
Joseph Muscat’s government gave the presidential pardon to Melvin Theuma for his testimony related to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.
On Friday, Abela said that Degiorgio’s request has not yet appeared before cabinet.
He declined to give his opinion on the matter, arguing that what he said could influene the cabinet, the Attorney General and the police commissioner.
Abela explained that a request for a presidential pardon first goes to the president and is then sent to the justice minister.
The government’s practice is for the justice minister to seek the advice of the attorney general and police commissioner, and that opinion, together with the request, is then presented to the cabinet.
The president then grants or declines a pardon based on the advice of cabinet.
Abela said that his government always decided on a pardon request based on "what is right".
He said previous governments gave presidential pardons to convicted drug traffickers - likely referring to the Queiroz affair in 1994.