Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/298224
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 APRIL 2014 3 JOHN PISANI ANOTHER case of domestic vio- lence unfolded early Saturday morn- ing in Xagħra, Gozo, when a man stabbed his former partner in the head with a six-inch screwdriver. The couple were separated from each other. The woman, 48 and a mother of one, was brought to Malta from Gozo by a helicopter of the Armed Forces and rushed to Mater Dei Hos- pital, where she was certified to be in danger of dying. The victim has been identified as Silvia Zammit. Sources said her estranged partner had stormed into the apartment af- ter breaking down the door. The woman called the parish priest for help, who in turn contacted the police. But during the altercation, she was stabbed in the neck behind her ears with a screwdriver. The gravity of the attack was such that she had to be urgently operated upon at Mater Dei Hospital to remove the screw- driver. The attacker was arrested by the police at a bus stop, when mobile squad officers noticed the man with a small boy who was not wearing any shoes. The man, noticing the ap- proaching police car, attempted to hide behind the bus stop. Police how- ever noted that the man's hands and trousers were covered in blood, and proceeded to arrest him. They said the man also gave them a false name when asked to identify himself. MaltaToday is informed that the man fled from the scene of crime with their 10-year-old son, but is now in police custody. It is understood that the stabbing occurred just after 7:20am in a flat in Xagħra where the woman was staying. Although investigations are at an early stage, it is believed that the woman was in Gozo only for the weekend, and that the man sought her out, when an argument ensued. A magisterial inquiry is in progress. Police Inspector Frank Tabone is in- vestigating the attempted murder. News 48-year-old mother of one attacked by her former partner and stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver Heinous attack leaves woman in danger of dying MEPs make pushbacks illegal PAGE 1 "We have asked for adequate financial resources to manage the initial reception and shelter of these persons from the moment they dis- embark in Italy. The possibility of activating the SPRAR (System of Protection for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) system, managed by the municipalities, depends urgently on the speed with which the funds arrive to manage the centres." New rules voted in by MEPs for the EU's border agency Frontex have strengthened the protection of fundamental rights for migrants and refugees saved at sea. The binding rules, passed with 528 votes in favour, including all Maltese MEPs, state that during border surveillance operations at sea, member states must respect international law, and that any measure taken in the course of a surveillance operation "should fully respect human dignity, fundamen- tal rights and the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, including the principle of non-refoulement." Supporters say that the rules ef- fectively ban pushbacks (so-called 'refoulement'), which are illegal as ruled by the European Court of Human Rights. But critics on the left claimed that the rules allow "refoulement by the back door" unless asylum seekers on board the rescued boat make it clear that they fear persecution if returned to their country of origin. "While the rules adopted include some clear improvements on the current situation, concerns re- main that Frontex sea operations will still be able to repel refugee boats without properly assessing whether refugees on intercepted boats need protection in the EU. This would be at odds with a Eu- ropean Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on the duty to pro- tect refugees at sea," Green migra- tion policy spokesperson Ska Kel- ler said. In the last 20 years between 17,000 and 20,000 people have died at the EU's external borders. PHOTOGRAPHY BY TVM.COM.MT The woman was brought to Mater Dei Hospital in an AFM helicopter