RIYADH: The lawyer hired by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to investigate the case of the 12-year-old girl married to an 80-year-old man in Buraidah, Sultan Al-Zahim, said he has not received any official information on the case and that he would continue to compile a report for the HRC to enable it to take the matter further.
The case, which was the talk of Saudi society for the last few weeks, was first presented in Riyadh newspapers as the case of a father who sold his 12-year-old daughter in marriage to his 80-year-old cousin for SR85,000.
The HRC had formed a committee, of which Al-Zahim is a member, to study the case and find ways for the commission to interfere if necessary. But to the astonishment of the lawyer, the HRC and the Saudi public, the mother who brought the case — accusing the 80-year-old husband of raping the child against her will — went to court last Sunday and dropped the charge. She told the court that she now accepted the marriage and there was no longer a problem. The daughter also told the court she accepted the marriage.
In a phone call with Arab News, Al-Zahim said the circumstances of the case are mysterious, adding that there are doubts around the girls’ real age. “It is essential to bear in mind that the case is still in front of a court, and that its is not our place ... to interfere if a legal verdict ... is still to be passed,” said Al-Zahim, stressing that he needs to fill in the gaps regarding the girl’s age, the mother’s motive for complaining and then withdrawing her complaint, and the husband’s real age.
Al-Zahim believes the case is full of exaggerations, especially regarding the girl’s age, adding that he was not able to get hold of any documents proving her age. On the other hand, the lawyer said the media had blown the entire case out of proportion, and that divorced couples tend to divert from the facts and claim things against each other, which is well known in the legal system. “For example, I received a phone call in the morning from an anonymous caller informing me that the girl is 15 and not 12,” said Al-Zahim.
The HRC does not have the right to investigate the legal facts of the case, said Al-Zahim, adding that it only interferes when the case is no longer in front of a court. “People should understand that the role of the HRC and any other body starts only when the case in closed regardless of the verdict or the ruling.”
