JEDDAH, 5 July 2004 — Having served a little over half his jail sentence, Muhammad Bakar Yunus Al-Fallatta, who had beaten his wife Rania Al-Baz almost to death, was released from jail on Saturday after she pardoned him.

Rania decided to forfeit her private Shariah right for monetary compensation from her husband and requested his release after “settling the case in a way satisfactory to both sides,” she told Arab News.

She declined to give details saying only that she did not want to drag this case out any longer given the massive publicity it has received.

Rania’s lawyer Dr. Omar Al-Khouli said both parties signed an agreement regarding their two children that “protects the rights of both parties.”

Following Al-Fallatta’s attack on her, Rania said she was chiefly concerned about being granted a divorce and permanent full custody of her two boys.

On April 4 Al-Fallatta pinned the popular TV presenter to the floor and repeatedly smashed her face into the marble tiles and the walls while choking her and then dumped her unconscious at a local hospital. She suffered 13 facial fractures and continues to undergo reconstructive surgery.

Al-Fallatta surrendered to police on April 19 and initially faced an attempted murder charge, later reduced to severe battery. Last month, he was sentenced to six months jail and 300 lashes. “This is a relatively lenient sentence in such cases,” Rania’s lawyer had told Arab News after the sentencing.

Under Shariah law, Rania has a private claim against her husband independently of the public case. The six months in jail and 300 lashes cover the public case. If Rania had insisted on compensation for her suffering, the sentence would have either been monetary compensation or, in theory, a beating similar in severity and kind to the one she suffered from her husband.

Under Shariah, in the event of a divorce, the mother gets custody of the children until the age of seven; after that, a boy is given the option of staying with his father or mother, with the other parent given visitation rights. Girls are given to the father.

While exceptions are made in unusual circumstances, Saudi courts usually rule in favor of the father regardless of his character or ability to support the children.

Rania earlier said she stayed with her husband despite his history of violence because she was afraid she would be denied custody of her children. Throughout this time, Al-Fallatta, an out-of-work singer, refused to divorce her.