Jason Azzopardi wants three men charged with Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder to join as parties in the libel case filed against him by minister Carmelo Abela.

The defamation suit was sparked following a Facebook post by Azzopardi in April, claiming that Abela had aided the mastermind behind a botched heist at HSBC in 2010. 

Azzopardi claimed further that Abela had received a €300,000 payment for his role in the planned robbery.

The minister categorically denied the “lies” and immediately went to court, suing Azzopardi for libel. 

While the case is scheduled to continue this month, Azzopardi has put forward a fresh request to presiding Magistrate Rachel Montebello, saying it was in “the national public interest” for self-confessed hitman in the Caruana Galizia assassination Vincent Muscat and his two alleged associates, George and Alfred Degiorgio, to be called as parties in the libel proceedings.

Azzopardi explained that since he had based his “logical opinion” upon public statements made by the three men who repeatedly claimed to possess first-hand information allegedly linking Abela to the HSBC failed robbery, it was crucial for them to be in the suit. 

In his application, Azzopardi lists references to a series of media reports about declarations and testimonies whereby Muscat and the Degiorgio brothers insisted on having information about such serious facts, the latest being a Times of Malta article published on Wednesday about the Degiorgios seeking a meeting with Europol. 

Lawyer Joseph Zammit Maempel signed the application.