Request by Nickie Vella de Fremeaux for Adrian Delia not to see his children rejected by court

● I will not give in to malicious attempts to turn this personal issue into a political one – Delia

A court has denied a request by the estranged wife of Opposition Leader Adrian Delia to prevent him seeing his children.

The court rejected allegations of domestic violence made by Nickie Vella de Fremeaux, allowing Delia to see his children three times a week, which this week included Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The couple agreed in court that Delia’s access to his children should be unrestricted.

Vella de Fremeaux filed for separation from her husband of 17 years earlier this year.

The court has prohibited both parties from making statements to the media, but excerpts of Vella de Fremeaux’s judicial proceedings have been leaked.

Vella de Fremeaux alleged that Delia was violent and abusive towards some of his children who “had also witnessed their father beating their mother”.

Excerpts of the proceedings have been doing the rounds on social media since Christmas Eve, but the court did not give any credence to these allegations and rejected the request made by Vella de Fremeaux for Delia to be prevented from seeing his chil- dren.

In a short statement issued through the Nationalist Party, Delia said that while noting “with dismay the malicious allegations circulating on the social media”, he will be sticking to the agreement reached in court which stipulates that no public statements are to be made about the separation case, in the best interests of the couple’s children.

“In no way will I be giving in to malicious attempts to turn this personal issue into a political one,” he said.