Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1391768
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JULY 2021 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS THE wife of a wheel- chair-bound man who dis- appeared last December has begun constitutional pro- ceedings against the Attorney General, claiming that she has been left homeless because of inexplicable delays in allowing her back into her home. Marcel Pisani vanished without trace last New Year's Eve, two days after a fire broke out at his home, which was unoccupied at the time. His wife, Pauline Pisani, filed an urgent court appli- cation last week, in which she explained her position. Before his disappearance, Pisani's marriage to her hus- band had broken down and so the woman, together with her son, had left the matri- monial home to live with her mother. She had filed police reports about her husband and was receiving assistance from the Domestic Violence Unit and the Victims Support Agency she claims. In October 2020, media- tion proceedings had been filed with the intention of reaching a marital separation agreement. But while the proceedings were still pend- ing, her lawyer said, Mar- cel Pisani is thought to have set fire to the matrimonial home before disappearing in December 2020. To date he is listed as a missing person by the police, who despite a nationwide search, including searches at sea, were unable to find him. As a result of the incident, a magisterial inquiry had start- ed – and is still underway. The woman's lawyer, Rachel Tua, filed the urgent court action, claiming that several requests made by her and her son to return to their home were being rejected "without a valid or just reason and in breach of their fundamental rights." The matrimonial home has been sealed under the inquiry for over six months, said the lawyer, arguing that the wom- an and her son could not con- tinue to live with her parents. She had no access to her be- longings and in addition to this, she said, the property, the windows to which were all broken as a result of the fire, is being subjected to rainwater and other damage. Pisani claims her rights to justice within a reasonable time were being breached and that the delays were not attributable to her. She called upon the courts to declare the delays were breaching her fundamen- tal human rights and were tantamount to inhuman and degrading treatment. She also asked it to award her damages for this breach and the breach of her right to pri- vate and family life. Wife of man missing since December files for constitutional redress Wife of Marcellino Pisani, wheelchair-bound man missing since last December, set fire to matrimonial home before his disappearance Marcel Pisani, missing since December 2020