AD express ‘full support’ to Lynn Zahra’s court case on divorce

Zahra has been in a relationship with former Labour Minister Joe Grima for the past 20 years and they have a child, however their relationship has not been yet recognised by the State.

In a statement issued late this afternoon, AD Chairperson Michael Briguglio declared: “AD gives total political support to Zahra’s court case, and we applaud her for her courage which is inspirational to thousands of other persons in a similar situation’.

On his part, AD Spokesperson on EU and International Affairs Arnold Cassola explained how Maltese and EU citizens resident in Malta “are discriminated against because they cannot have recourse to divorce in Malta”.

“Unfortunately, because of the fundamentalist attitude of the Maltese government and the ‘catch all voters’ attitude of the PL leadership, the Maltese are being deprived of a civil right which all other European Union citizens are party to,” Cassola insisted.

AD Spokesperson on Civil Rights Yvonne Arqueros Ebejer added: “Lyn Zahra has started the ball rolling”.

She explained how this court case “could constitute an important milestone for the thousands of Maltese who are being deprived of their right to re-marry after their first marriage has failed or to start a new life whatever they choose it to be.

“Should Lynn Zahra lose her case in Malta, she can then proceed to the European Courts of Justice,” Arqueros Ebeyer concluded.

Zahra announced today that she would file its constitutional court case in October, based on various legal arguments, but had “no illusions" of winning in the Maltese courts.

In fact, her aim was to take it to the European Court of Human Rights where she was certain Malta would finally be "forced" to allow couples from broken marriages the right to divorce.

However she could only refer its case to Strasbourg after exhausting all local legal remedies.

Although she has been planning to take this step for a long time, she was pushed to get things moving when Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando put forward a Private Member's Bill two weeks ago.