JEDDAH, 1 June 2006 — A court hearing in a high-profile child abuse case is scheduled for next Monday, according to a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.
The father of six-year-old Rahaf will be forcibly brought to court after failing to appear on Monday.
The lawyer for the child and her mother, Mohamed Al-Salmi, said he feels optimistic that his clients will win the abuse case.
“I expect that the case will end with a decision that satisfies Islamic law within two weeks,” Al-Salmi told Arab News yesterday.
On Nov. 20, Rahaf’s teachers admitted the girl to King Faisal Hospital in Taif after discovering slashes on her back.
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. Taif police have approved the stepmother’s confession to the crime and will submit it in the court.
Authorities have traditionally been unwilling to intervene in domestic-abuse incidents. Rahaf’s mother is also filing for custody of the girl. The custody hearing is scheduled for June 11.
