The child’s parents, both Palestinians, divorced some time ago. The custody of the boy was then given to the father who then moved from Taif to live in Madinah.

It was during a visit to Madinah that the mother noticed marks on her son who said his father was beating him up with electric wires and an electric iron. The mother complained to police who questioned the father. In his defense, the father said he was merely disciplining the child and the police failed to act further.

Dissatisfied by the police’s inaction, the mother complained to the NSHR branch in Taif about the matter. Adel Al-Thubaity, an official with the NSHR, took the matter to court, which decided to award the child to the mother because of the abuse.