JEDDAH, 24 May 2006 — The judge in a high-profile domestic abuse trial that was scheduled for yesterday delayed the third hearing in order to study the case further, according to Mohamed Al-Salmi, the lawyer for the plaintiffs in the case. The plaintiffs, the mother and six-year-old Rahaf, and the defendants, Rahaf’s father and his current wife, attended the court session.
On Nov. 20, Rahaf’s teachers in Taif admitted the girl to King Faisal Hospital after discovering slashes on her back. Taif authorities said at the time that the father refused to press charges against his wife, Rahaf’s stepmother, who is accused of abusing the girl.
Rahaf’s mother also alleges that her ex-husband assaulted her when she went to the hospital to visit her daughter. Hospital officials also said they witnessed the incident and police had to escort both parents out of the hospital.
After the abuse incident, Rahaf’s father dropped all charges against his new wife. Rahaf’s mother has since filed charges against her ex-husband and Rahaf’s stepmother.
Rahaf’s case is the first of its kind to receive media attention on the problem of domestic abuse.Al-Jowhara Al-Angari, head of the Family and Child Cases Committee who became involved in the case, said in November that the father said his wife was justified in the abuse because Rahaf wet her bed. Rahaf was released on Nov. 25 into the custody of her father’s uncle after six days in hospital.
In February, Rahaf’s father allegedly broke his current wife’s nose. A hospital official told Arab News in January that the woman’s son from a previous marriage had brought his mother to the hospital. Police said at the time they were searching for Rahaf’s father for questioning related to the incident.
According to current laws regarding domestic abuse, authorities do not intervene on family disputes if a suspected victim of domestic abuse is in a hospital for less than 21 days.
