Colleagues and students of the woman who was granted a presidential pardon welcomed her back to school yesterday with hugs and handshakes.

“I felt so welcome. I start work at 8am and when I walked into the office, where we sign in, people came up to me and hugged and kissed me,” the 57-year-old English language teacher said.

“They also gave me a petition, 10 pages long, signed by them and their friends and relatives asking for the President to forgive me… They never managed to give it to him but I thank them so much,” she continued.

In class, students were glad to see her. She was not sure whether they knew she had been in jail because no one mentioned it.

The students were told she was indisposed and were glad she was back, she said.

The woman returned to work at a State secondary school after the Public Service Commission decided not to dismiss her, as often happens to civil servants jailed for a crime.

The supply teacher who looked after students while she was away handed the class back to her.

“Some people came to speak to me to share their experiences of the courts,” the woman said.

She was taken to prison on September 27 after an appeal court confirmed a magistrate’s judgment jailing her for three months. She was found guilty of failing to give her former husband access to their son, who was then 16, on 13 different occasions.

The woman, and, later, her son, argued he was old enough to decide who to spend time with and the mother insisted she never forced the teenager not to go to his father. Following a public outcry, including a night vigil outside prison in support of the woman, she left prison last Monday – 41 days before serving the time ordered by the court – after being granted a presidential pardon.

President George Abela said his decision was guided by the woman’s son, who is now almost 18. He said children ought to be heard more in court.

The Malta Union of Teachers welcomed the Public Service Commission’s decision not to dismiss the woman.

It called on the authorities to review the system followed by the courts when deciding custody cases.

“The MUT appeals for proper consultation with child psychologists and other relevant professionals as well as the children themselves. The MUT strongly believes that it is high time that children’s rights are given priority,” the union said.