The wife of a man who has been missing for several months has filed constitutional proceedings claiming her human rights were being breached by the authorities’ refusal to allow her to return to her matrimonial home which her husband is believed to have set on fire prior to his disappearance. 

Pauline Pisani claimed that although court experts appointed as part of the magisterial inquiry into her husband’s disappearance had submitted all their reports, the inquiry, headed by Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, had not been concluded yet.

As a result, all her applications for her to return to the Mosta matrimonial home with her son were turned down without reason, she claimed. 

Her husband, Marcel Pisani, is a wheelchair-bound 50-year-old man who has been missing since December 31. The police have since issued four appeals for help to locate him.

Last week, the police said that searches for Pisani never stopped, but unfortunately they have all been negative. They said searches have been made all around the coasts of Malta and Gozo by the police on land, the armed forces from the air and the Civil Protection in several areas at sea.

Pisani drove a blue Ranault Captur with a cream-coloured roof. 

Pauline Pisani said that in 2017 her husband had tried to end his life and ended up in a wheelchair. She modified the matrimonial home so that her husband could lead a normal life.

However, their marriage had broken down and she left the matrimonial home with her son and moved in with her mother. She said she was receiving assistance from the Domestic Violence Unit and the Victims Support Agency.

She added that mediation proceedings had started in October last year for marital separation but Pisani is thought to have set fire to the matrimonial home before disappearing in December.

To date, he is listed as a missing person by the police who have been unable to find him.

Through her lawyer Rachel Tua, the woman claimed that the matrimonial home has been sealed for more than six months and that she was unable to gain access to any of her belongings.

Moreover, the house had sustained damages in the fire, including the window panes. As a result, the house is open to the elements and was sustaining more damage on a daily basis.

Pisani claimed that her rights to justice within a reasonable time were being breached. She was also denied the right to enjoy her property and her right to private and family life. She claimed that the delays were subjecting her to inhuman and degrading treatment.

In the application filed against the State Advocate, Pisani called on the court to award her damages for these breaches.