JEDDAH, 28 April 2004 — Dr. Omar Al-Khouli has been asked by members of the National Human Rights Association to represent Rania Al-Baz free of charge.
Rania has filed a case against her abusive husband, Muhammad Bakar Yunus Al-Fallatta, in which she asks for divorce and custody of her children.
Dr. Al-Khouli expects a judge to open the case next week. “He will verify the husband’s confession, whether it was voluntary or by force and he might make his judgment in the first session,” Al-Khouli told Arab News.
There is a public right and a private right in this case. If Rania insists on getting compensation for her suffering and does not relinquish that right, that will also affect the sentence. Rania is asking for divorce and custody of her children. In cases of abuse and other situations in which the father is found unfit to have custody, she might get guardianship or permanent custody.
“I expect that in a case of such extreme abuse, the judge could grant her permanent custody,” Dr. Al-Khouli said.
A determining factor in this case is the police report. “The police and prosecutor have said it was not a case of attempted murder because there was no murder weapon but of severe battering. To counter this, the medical report will show bruises on her neck which can be a sign of strangulation.”
Another factor that might be in her husband’s favor was that he took her to the hospital, even though he dumped her at the gate and fled the scene without offering assistance or explaining why she was in that condition. “When he was asked by the police, he denied that he intended to kill her but admitted to having beaten her,” Dr. Al-Khouli said.
