One of Daphne Caruana Galizia's sons has dismissed calls for the man suspected of masterminding his mother’s assassination to be given a presidential pardon. 

“No one should be talking about pardons when Malta has a plea-bargaining mechanism in place. But either way, not even that should be considered when it comes to a cold-blooded murderer like Yorgen Fenech”, Caruana Galizia wrote on Facebook. 

Caruana Galizia published the post just hours after twin calls for Fenech to be given some form of reduced sentence in exchange for information about corruption in local politics.

Gudja councillor and former Nationalist Party executive council president Mark Anthony Sammut made the case for clemency if it brought the whole edifice down.

“If Yorgen Fenech is the key to unlocking the entire web of mafia in politics, a form of pardon or reduced sentence in exchange for cooperation leading to their capture should be considered,” Sammut argued.

Sammut conceded that allowing Fenech to serve a reduced sentence would hurt Caruana Galizia’s relatives, but argued that the late journalist’s memory would be better honoured if “instead of one pawn, the entire web of criminals in power is wiped out”.

The Civil Society Network echoed those calls, saying that the offer of a reduced sentence should be kept on the table.

“We note that it was Joseph Muscat who took the decision to exclude a presidential pardon for Fenech, the same Muscat who had to resign after his friends were implicated in the very murder of Ms Caruana Galizia,” the CSN said.

“If his testimony can reveal more serious corruption that is presently being buried by Muscat’s decision, then an opportunity may be lost for the truth to come out in this extremely complex case.”

Matthew Caruana Galizia (right) and his brother Andrew (left) carry their mother's coffin during her November 2017 funeral. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Fenech stands accused of complicity in the murder of Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb explosion in October 2017. He is pleading not guilty to charges and has claimed that Keith Schembri, who served as prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, was the man behind the plot.

The business tycoon has also told investigators that he has information about a range of corruption reaching the highest levels of power. Last weekend, Malta Today reported that Fenech told police he knew who owned Macbridge, a secret offshore company which together with his own company 17 Black was named as a source of funds for companies belonging to Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi.

Fenech has already had a request for a pardon turned down last year by Joseph Muscat’s government. 

Caruana Galizia said the goal was not to put certain politicians in jail, but to achieve justice. 

“Some politicians do have to go to jail along the way. But when they do, it will be as a side effect of the justice process, and not the end goal. Even if we were bent on sending those politicians to jail, do we have to offer any discount to a murderer to achieve it? No, we don't.”

He accused the police of having sat on evidence of crimes perpetrated by politicians for years, after it was handed to them on a silver platter by the FIAU. 

Caruana Galizia said the police had done close to nothing to move corruption investigations forward, and it was not just because of a lack of resources.

“Without the police doing their job, our entire justice system falls apart. The last thing we need in this situation, is a discount for a murderer. The first thing we need is for the police to do their job”.