Oranjestad, Aruba ? Aruba’s chief government spokesman said Friday that three young men detained in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager have not been formally charged but could be as soon as Monday.

Earlier, Aruba’s attorney general, Karin Janssen, told The Associated Press that the young men had been charged with murder since their arrest three weeks ago.

The attorney general and other Aruban officials have said for weeks that no one has been charged in the 18-year-old’s disappearance. Janssen said authorities also withheld information about the charges in order not to compromise their investigation. Authorities have said they have no physical evidence suggesting Holloway is dead.

Return calls to Janssen were not immediately returned.

Janssen said 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers who are his friends have been charged since their arrest June 9 – 10 days after the disappearance of Holloway. The teen disappeared on the the last day of a five-day vacation with 124 students from Mountain Brook, Ala., celebrating their high school graduation.

All court hearings in the case have been closed to the public.

Van der Sloot’s family and lawyer have said the 17-year-old is innocent of any crime. Efforts to reach them or the Holloway family on Friday were not successful.