Updated 1.35pm

George and Alfred Degiorgio have filed a new request for a presidential pardon, saying they have “first-hand” information about a former minister masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The brothers facing murder charges in that case also claim to have information about a middleman in that murder who has so far eluded charges, and say they can also provide direct information linking former ministers to serious crimes. 

The Degiorgios have had previous requests to obtain a pardon for that crime turned down. Mindful of that happening again, the Degiorgios’ lawyer has also filed an urgent application before the courts to pre-empt the breach of rights they say they will suffer if that request is refused again without anyone hearing all they had to say.

The double-pronged action came about on Monday morning when the lawyer of the two alleged hitmen in the Caruana Galizia assassination presented a letter to President George Vella requesting a pardon for them. 

However, since similar previous requests were turned down upon advice of the Cabinet, without anyone ever hearing all that the Degiorgos had to say, their lawyer concurrently filed an urgent application before the First Hall, Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction.

Willing to supply information about 'very serious crimes'

Both brothers had requested a pardon last year and both had stressed that they were more than willing to supply information not only about the Caruana Galizia murder but also about other “very serious crimes” which had taken place in the past. 

They repeatedly insisted that the information they had was not hearsay but “direct” firsthand knowledge which pointed at a former government minister as the mastermind as well as the involvement of another individual who was a minister in the previous legislature, explained William Cuschieri, the applicants’ lawyer.

Yet, on April 19 of last year, the Degiorgios learnt through media reports that the Cabinet had advised against the granting of a pardon after receiving advice from the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner.

The decision was also said to have been based upon national interests and justice.

Yet no one had ever spoken to them nor sent for them to hear all they had to say.

All they got was an email bearing two letters from the President whereby their lawyer was told that their pardon requests were turned down. 

Self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma as well as self-confessed hitman Vincent Muscat had been treated differently, pointed out the applicants.

Both Theuma and Muscat had been spoken to by the relative authorities, their versions taken and a report drawn up before they were each granted a presidential pardon.

However in their case, they got no fair hearing or rather they got “no hearing at all,” argued the Degiorgios, pointing out that it was neither in the national interest nor in the interest of justice that the “truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth remained unknown".

Pre-empting that today’s fresh request would be handled in a similar fashion, the Degiorgios urgently turned to the court, requesting it to afford a remedy for the breach that would ensue if Cabinet were to advise against the pardon without them being heard.

They requested the court to afford any adequate measure, possibly also ordering the relative authorities to hear what the applicants had to say.

The application was filed against the Justice Minister, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Police Commissioner, the Attorney General and the State Advocate.

Lawyer William Cuschieri signed both the letter to the President and the court application.