Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1403840
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 AUGUST 2021 10 NEWS Diplomat invokes immunity in family dispute MATTHEW AGIUS A high ranking diplomat at the Spanish embassy is invoking dip- lomatic immunity to prevent his ex-wife from seeing her chil- dren, according to a judicial protest seen by the MaltaToday. The official, who is not being named in order to protect the children's identity, is one of the respondents listed in a judi- cial protest filed by the English mother against the Ministry for Children's Rights, the Foreign Ministry, the Foundation for So- cial Welfare Services, the State Advocate, the Spanish Ambas- sador and the father. According to the couple's divorce decree, which was handed down in Germany, the minor children are to reside with their father, but care and custody is shared between the parties. The father subsequently moved to Malta with the children, due to his work with the Spanish Embassy. The mother also moved to Malta in order to be close to her children, the judicial protest states. According to a court decree from July, the woman is entitled to supervised access to her children twice a week for two hours. The protest claims that the Director of Child Protection Ser- vices had testified that during the proceedings, the Spanish Em- bassy and the Foreign Ministry put pressure on Child Protec- tion Services to allow one of the children who had been living with his mother, be sent to live with the father. Meanwhile one of the minors had been taken abroad by the fa- ther without the mother's knowledge and the mother's contact with the child had been cut off. Shortly before a scheduled access appointment with the chil- dren, the woman was informed by CPS that the appointment was not going to be held as the father "had invoked his diplo- matic immunity." Abuse of diplomatic immunity is not a new phenomenon and cases on the topic are well documented abroad, but it appears that this is the first time that it is being used in a child custody case in Malta. The protest points out that the father had no problem submit- ting himself to the jurisdiction of the Maltese Courts when he had filed the application for his ex-wife's supervised access, but was now obstructing the enforcement of the orders given by the same court under the protection of diplomatic immunity. The mother's lawyer, Robert Thake, argued that the man's ac- tions breached the woman's fundamental rights to a fair trial and to family life. "The spirit and scope behind the Vienna Con- vention on Diplomatic Immunity was to allow diplomats unob- structed exercise of their duties and not to aid domestic abuse," Thake said. The relationship between the protester and her mi- nor children has nothing to do with the father's official func- tions and that therefore the invocation of diplomatic immunity "is completely abusive and intended for his own private and personal benefit," reads the judicial protest. KARL AZZOPARDI RACISM in Maltese football will be a new bone of contention between authorities and support- ers, as the Maltese FA get ready to introduce new measures aimed at targeting racist abuse from the stands. For known supporters from so called Premier- ship 'ultras' who spoke to MaltaToday, are blunt about the prevalence of – perhaps unchanging – attitudes of a portion of football supporters. "Racism is not a Maltese issue, and I feel new- ly introduced regulations will do little to curb the problem," one supporter, belonging to a top-flight club's support core, told MaltaToday. "Black players should ignore the noise and act professionally," he said, on condition of ano- nymity. Last week, Santa Luċija goalkeeper Julani Archibald was subjected to racist attacks by a handful of Floriana FC supporters, an attack that was called out on Floriana's own Facebook page following the game. The incident led to equality activist and social worker Omar Rababah, the host of MaltaToday's Maltin Bħalek (see interview MT2) to submit a set of recommendations to the Malta Football Association, aimed at fighting racism in Malta's football scene. The day after, the Malta FA Executive intro- duced new regulations which among other meas- ures, will allow referees to halt matches when a racist incident occurs in a Maltese stadium. The proposed regulations are in line with UE- FA-approved official guidelines to help match officials handle incidents of racism inside stadi- ums. The anonymous supporter MaltaToday spoke to, hailing from one of the country's 'ultras' groups, seemed comfortable justifying racism in football as a phenomenon that is also found out- side the football ground. "I'm reluctant to speak out on the incident because I don't want this to affect the club. I wouldn't be comfortable reporting my friends to any authority. Racism should never be accepted, but unfortunately footballing rivalries can lead to such situations." Various other supporters clubs and known football supporters refused to comment on the issue with this newspaper. Malta Football Referees Association (MFRA) President Trustin Farrugia Cann welcomed the newly introduced regulations by the MFA. He thinks they will help in curbing racism. "We ful- ly agree with the regulations, and we believe they will work," he said. He said that Premier League referees' experi- ence in international games will make it easier for them to adopt the regulations locally. Social worker Andrew Azzopardi, who used to head the English FA's safeguarding team, wel- comed the MFA's new regulations, saying it was a "bold step". "Their proposals are excellent and they deserve the credit together with activists like Omar Rababah," Azzopardi said. Azzopardi said that unfortunately racism is a reality in Maltese society. "That is why the next step is to work towards a change in culture within Maltese football," he said. "This can be done by developing an equality strategy through Omar's proposals, education, regulations and by employing someone to drive forward the agenda and take responsibility for its implementation." Anti-racism rules: football supporters get ready for the stick Sta Lucija goalkeeper Julani Archibald