Court lifts travel ban on woman whose abusive partner claimed wanted abortion

A preliminary court injunction preventing a woman from travelling over a false abortion claim, has been revoked.

Madam Justice Anna Felice ruled that there was no valid reason at law to stop the free movement of the woman, an abuse victim whose travel plans were stopped short by her former partner’s court injunction.

The man claimed the woman was travelling to an abortion clinic, something the court found no proof of. “Abortion is a crime in Malta so the plaintiff should file his report with the police if and when there is any suspicion of that.”

The court did not investigate any further the serious allegations of domestic violence brought by the woman’s legal team, the Women’s Rights Foundation.

WRF called out the initial decision to accept the injunction, stating that it was against their client’s right to freedom of movement, in breach of her fundamental right to privacy and blatant gender discrimination just because she is a woman.

“We wish to thank the court for the swift decision; all of you for sharing, contributing and raising awareness; and mostly to our client for her bravery, courage and readiness to come forward and fight for what’s rightfully hers,” the WRF said.

The provisional injunction was in place for a week.

Speaking to MaltaToday on Thursday, human rights lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic said that this was “nothing more than a ludicrous, unfounded claim” by the partner in an attempt to use the law to control his victim.

Dimitrijevic said that the woman, who is 15 weeks’ pregnant, had no intention of travelling for an abortion. “However, regardless of her intention this was a breach of her fundamental human rights. Because of the order, she has been forced to surrender her passport to the police station for over a week,” Dimitrijevic said.

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