A prime minister who was a lawyer for Malta’s underworld is not in a position to take decisions on pardons, the newly merged ADPD party said on Monday.

The party was referring to a story carried in The Sunday Times of Malta about how Robert Abela legally represented the brothers believed to have supplied the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia. Abela is now looking into whether he should abstain from deciding on a presidential pardon for alleged hitman Vincent Muscat, who is expected to name his former clients.

"The future of the Agius brothers, known as Ta' Maksar, potentially lies in the hands of their former lawyer, now Malta's Prime Minister. Yesterday's revelations in The Sunday Times of Malta show the extent of influence that the Maltese underworld may potentially exert over the Maltese political and justice system," the party said. 

ADPD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said the prime minister has a duty to ensure that the legal process is not tainted by any form of conflict, which his previous life as a practising lawyer of the underworld seems to suggest.

"A decision on a pardon for evidence that could bring more people to account for the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia should therefore not rest with him,” he said.  

The party called for immediate and urgent legal reforms to establish a framework for such decisions to be taken by a special prosecutor appointed from among Malta's judiciary. 

 

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