Probation for Syrian man who threatened his partner in front of their children

A 43-year-old Syrian was placed on probation for a year after pleading guilty to threatening his partner with violence in the presence of their 10 and 11-year-old children.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli also bound the man to a €1,000 personal guarantee and ordered him to avoid contact with his – former – partner.

After pleading guilty to the charges, and before the magistrate handed down her judgement, the man asked and was allowed to take the witness stand to clarify and refute some claims that were made gainst him and included in the police report.

Visibly upset and emotional, the man insisted that he had never lain a hand on the children but admitted that he would sometimes quarrel with their mother.

He said he would get riled to find the plate of dirty plates after coming home from a day’s work, or having to frequently wash the clothes or cook for everyone himself.

He said there were other things he could not stand, like ending up with only one sock in each pair out of as many as 85 pairs.

And when once mentioned the war in his home country, she downplayed it and told she was definitely not to blame for that, he told the court.

He said the children were the reason why he had never returned to his family for 13 years, and noted that he and his partner were also discussing marriage prior to this incident.

The prosecution, led by police inspector Joseph Busuttil, acknowledged that the police could not confirm all the claims included in the report and that the man had not been charged for those.

Lawyer Jonathan Spiteri appeared for the defendant.