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NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 APRIL 2023 LAWYERS have requested the exhibition of the a report by re- tired judge Geoffrey Valenzia which concluded that the State had failed Benice Cassar as the case against the 42-year-old man from Mqabba accused of her murder continued Tuesday. Roderick Cassar denies mur- dering Bernice, his ex-wife and the mother of their two children, in Corradino industrial estate on 22 November. He is facing 15 charges in to- tal including holding the victim against her will, subjecting her to moral and psychological vio- lence, using a firearm during the commission of a crime and car- rying a weapon without a permit. Other charges deal with the theft of the victim's mobile phone and car keys, and volun- tary damage to her property. He is also accused of breaching a probation order and insulting a man who had tried to intervene, moments before the fatal shoot- ing took place. In court this morning, defence lawyer Franco Debono stressed that a copy of Valenzia's inquiry into this case had to be provided to the defence. Debono suggested that society had probably failed more than one victim. "Who knows if it has failed others?" The prosecution questioned the relevance of the defence's re- quest. Replying to Debono's demand, presiding magistrate Joe Mifsud said that the lawyer knew where he should file an application to request a copy, telling him not to attempt to burden the court with such a request. Attorneys Angele Vella, Antho- ny Vella and Darlene Grima from the Attorney General's Office are assisting Inspectors Wayne Camilleri, Shaun Pawney and Paul Camlleri as Prosecution. The lawyers Franco Debono, Ar- thur Azzopardi, Marion Camill- eri and Jacob Magri are appear- ing for the accused. The lawyers Stefano Filletti, Marita Pace Di- mech, Ann Marie Cutajar and Rodianne Sciberras are appear- ing as parte civile on behalf of the victim's family. The accused was the first per- son to be accused of voluntary femicide, an aggravated version of the crime of homicide. The only difference in the law be- tween femicide and homicide is that the concept of the "crime of passion" (a crime that occurred during a constant passion) has been removed when it comes to men. This legal concept was intro- duced last year after the violent murder of Paulina Dembska in Tas-Sliema on 2 January. There- fore, the accused cannot contin- ue to argue that they committed a crime of passion - one of the lines of defense most used in such cases. The victim Bernice Cassar had submitted several reports of do- mestic violence against her hus- band, which led the police to bring criminal charges against him last May. The couple had been married for nine years. The Court had ordered Roder- ick Cassar not to approach his wife, where the couple was going through a process of separation, but allegedly the accused repeat- edly violated that protection or- der given by the Court. The case was adjourned to May. Reporting by Matthew Agius magius@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 But the constitutional appli- cation signed by lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi, Mar- ion Camilleri and Jacob Magri states that the legislator "had cre- ated a sexist and discriminatory law that gives rise to preferential and differential treatment" which discriminated against men. No other country has intro- duced a similar legal disposition, the lawyers pointed out. "Why is the murder of a woman, committed under one of the cir- cumstances mentioned in Article 211A [rendering it wilful femi- cide], is taken to be worse than the murder of a man carried out in identical circumstances." The same was argued about the harsh- er punishment. Further questions were asked about why only murder and at- tempted murder were aggravated by the new amendment. "By anal- ogy, should not every crime com- mitted against a woman be treat- ed as being aggravated? Is the life of a man not as precious as that of a woman?" The lawyers also queried the amendment's removal of the mit- igation of punishment in murders committed "under the first trans- port of a sudden passion" if the victim is female - but not if the victim is male. "Can't the murder of a woman also be committed under the immediate influence of a sudden passion?" asked the lawyers. It was stressed that the protec- tion from discrimination in Mal- tese law is based on the European Convention on Human Rights, and in this case was tied to Cas- sar's right to a fair trial. Although currently charged with a crime, Cassar was still pre- sumed innocent, argued the law- yers, but with the introduction of the new offence of femicide, he was now being expressly preclud- ed from utilising a legal defence that otherwise applied in all other comparable scenarios. Cassar's lawyers asked the court to declare that the legislative framework introduced by Act X of 2022 to be a breach of his fun- damental right to a fair trial and protection from discrimination, requesting an effective remedy. Concerns over the discriminato- ry nature of the femicide offence were raised by some lawyers at the time of its approval by parliament. The judgment will now be left to the constitutional court in what will be a key test of the ground- breaking legislation that was long championed by women's rights advocates. Defence requests Valenzia report be exhibited in Bernice Cassar murder case Roderick Cassar with his face covered by a jacket on the back seat of a police car as he was being driven away to prison (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Man accused of Bernice Cassar murder claims discrimination under femicide offence