The PN is calling on the government to publish the entire presidential pardon given to Melvin Theuma, without any censorship.

The party made the call after Melvin Theuma refused to testify against five men accused of giving him a phantom government job, five months after he brokered the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Theuma’s refusal came after defence lawyers questioned whether the presidential pardon he was given in relation to the murder, covered this particular case as well.  Theuma was supposed to testify in the criminal proceedings against the five men that include Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, and Yorgen Fenech. The other three men are former OPM customer care chief Sandro Craus, former private secretary in the family ministry Anthony Ellul and former Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd CEO Anthony Muscat.

The PN, in its statement, also said that the Attorney General and Police Commissioner are obliged to declare if the presidential pardon given to Theuma incorporates the alleged crimes for which he was asked to testify about.

“The people have a right to know under what conditions the pardon to Theuma was given, what information he is obliged to provide, and about what crimes he is obliged to testify about.”

The PN said that it also expects the government to declare who the people involved in the preparation of the pardon were, who was consulted about giving the pardon, who the people who had access to the draft pardon and other documents tied to it were before it was signed, and who, aside from ministers and parliamentary secretaries, was present for the Cabinet meeting where the decision to give Theuma the pardon was taken.

“When giving the pardon was issued, the government – then led by Joseph Muscat – knew that Theuma was given a job by a government company and that Theuma had strong ties with Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri, who had met in Castille including inside the Cabinet room,” the PN said.

“The PN is aware that the pardon given to Theyma is signed, not only by the President of Malta George Vella, Melvin Theuma and his lawyer, but also by Joseph Muscat – Prime Minister at the time, Lawrence Cutajar – Police Commissioner at the time, and Peter Grech – Attorney General at the time."

The party said that the pardon as signed by the President on 25 November 2019, soon before Keith Schembri resigned as the then Prime Minister’s chief of staff. The PN said it was prepared when Schembri was still in his position. “This didn’t happen by coincidence. The day Schembri resigned as Chief of Staff, Joseph Muscat issued a statement through which he thanked Keith Schembri for his work and his crucial role.”

“The publication of the pardon is not unprecedented. On 24 February 2021, the government, through a statement, published the pardon given to Vincent Muscat by the President.

The PN statement was signed by PN MP Karol Aquilina.