Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1360420
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 APRIL 2021 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS THE two brothers accused of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia have explicitly suggested that the government is sitting on their requests for a pardon be- cause their information connects the murder to a "former govern- ment minister" who they say was a mastermind. In a statement by William Cus- chieri, the lawyer for alleged hitmen George and Alfred De- giorgio, the brother said their requests for a pardon to reveal "all the information they have in connection with the accusa- tions against them and other crimes which happened in the past which information is di- rect, known personally to them and not mere hearsay," was still pending. The pair asked what was hold- ing the authorities from formally acknowledging receipt of their requests and from considering them "seriously and expeditious- ly". They said that in the case of middleman turned State's ev- idence Melvin Theuma, the pardon was granted in a very short period of time through a decision by former prime minister Joseph Muscat, who they said had acted alone. "Why does the State prefer to consider and grant Presiden- tial Pardons to a third party who, as has already resulted from his testimony, does not have di- rect evidence but is relying on what he says that they have told him?" Cuschieri asked. He also asked why the State "did not wish to hear what they had to say and consider the in- formation they have in accord- ance with the law." The lawyer pointedly asked: "Could it be the case that the authorities, the institutions and finally the State do not want to consider their requests in the manner contemplated by law be- cause they advised that the infor- mation they have should lead in the case of the homicide of Daph- ne Caruana Galizia, amongst others, to a mastermind who was a government minister and therefore there exists a serious conflict of interest in those who in accordance to law should give their recommendation about the requests made by them? "Could it be the case that the authorities, the institutions and finally the State do not want to consider their requests in the manner contemplated by law be- cause they advised that the infor- mation they have should lead to a mastermind who was a govern- ment minister and present-day sitting minister in other cases where very serious crimes have been com- mitted and therefore there exists a serious conflict of interest in those who in accordance to law should give their recommendation about the requests made by them?" The men suggested that the Cabinet that is supposed to give its recommendation on their re- quests has a conflict of interest given the potential naming of a minister who was part of the pre- vious Cabinet and "was involved as a mastermind in the case of the homicide of Daphne Carua- na Galizia." "Are these the circumstanc- es which are holding back that their requests are considered in accordance to law because the State is protecting itself from it- self and its own wrongdoing?" Caruana Galizia reaction But Corinne Vella, Daphne Caruana Galizia's sister, has ac- cused the persons involved in the murder of working together to ensure that they all walk free, asking that investigators "follow the money" instead of relying on pardons. "They want everybody to be- lieve that what they claim to know, even though they don't offer any evidence on or off the record, is somehow worse than what they have done them- selves," Vella told MaltaToday. "All of the people accused of Daphne's murder are working together. They're campaigning to ensure that they all walk free," Vella said. She pointed out that nobody knew who was funding the de- fence of the men. "Rather than pandering to public outrage over claims that ministers are involved, Malta should be fol- lowing the money trail… that is key. Who is funding the defence of the accused murderers? How much time is spent on frivolous requests and constitutional cas- es? This all costs money. Who is paying? The accused's money is frozen." Hitmen: Cabinet conflict over 'minister mastermind' Brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio say they are ready to name two ministers in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination and other major crimes 'I must have told Gojja to say the truth' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 MaltaToday specifically asked Cutajar whether he had called Brincat to make sure they would align the versions of their tes- timonies in court. "I cannot remember," Cutajar said. "If I spoke to him, I would have told him that he should say nothing but the truth when he testifies, just as I said the truth." Cutajar told MaltaToday he has not spoken to Brincat since then, although he was unable to recall the 14 June evening conversa- tion. The call between the two men reinforces the connection be- tween Cutajar and Brincat, a close friend of Theuma who is believed to have first convinced the murder middleman to re- cord his conversations with Yor- gen Fenech and other associates linked to the murder. Cutajar was revealed by The Times of having held two secret meetings with Il-Ġojja during the course of the murder inves- tigation. The first secret meeting between the two occurred when the team of murder investigators had settled on a plan on how to arrest Theuma at some point in 2019. But the meeting happened without the knowledge of the investigative team and raised se- rious concerns of "possible collu- sion" between the former police chief and one of the suspected players in the murder investi- gation, when it was flagged by investigative partners at a later date. Despite being urged not to get involved in the murder investiga- tion, Cutajar met Brincat a sec- ond time just as the murder in- vestigation team had decided on a tentative date to arrest Theuma – just days before the 2019 arrest eventually took place. Cutajar had insisted they were done in good faith to try to help the investigation. When he resigned as police commissioner in 2020, Cutajar was made a consultant by the Abela government on a salary of more than €31,000 for a part- time role. Brincat-Theuma connection Police investigators in the Caruana Galizia assassination were already concerned that middleman Melvin Theuma was coached by Brincat in how to record Fenech and verbalise his connection to the journalist's murder. After Theuma's arrest in No- vember 2019, investigators sum- moned Brincat, asking him to explain his telephone conversa- tions with Theuma. In the Malta Security Service phone taps played out during that interrogation – on the eve of Theuma's pardon being rec- ommended by then police com- missioner Lawrence Cutajar – Brincat can be heard advising Theuma on what to do. The phone-calls were made weeks or months before the No- vember arrest: "I'm calling to tell you... that when you speak, you mention his [Fenech's] name... so if you have to make someone hear it, his name is heard... And mention Kenneth [Camilleri's] name, mention it... so they can hear themselves being men- tioned, so you get their names on it... and say 'qabbadtni' (you recruited me)... all words that will work against him... keep it mind." Investigators warned Brincat that if it resulted that he had coached Theuma, it could en- danger the middleman's pardon. "Do you want us to say that you framed Yorgen Fenech? Isn't this your advice to a friend? You didn't break the law by telling him to record the conversation... it was after the murder..." Friends: Edwin Brincat (left) is a close friend of middleman Melvin Theuma, and was on close terms with former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar