NAJRAN, 16 November 2007 — A Turkish couple, whose child was mistakenly swapped at birth with that of a Saudi camel breeder in Najran, has left the Kingdom with the Saudi boy that they have been bringing up for four years.
Yusuf Joja and his wife left the Kingdom with four-year-old Yaqub, and has pledged to continue fighting for custody of his biological son from Turkey, said Hamad ibn Yahia, the lawyer representing Joja. “Joja decided to go back to his home country... and will continue procedures from there. He is experiencing a difficult emotional crisis,” said the lawyer.
“Joja feels that he has been treated unfairly by both the Saudi Ministry of Health and the Turkish Embassy,” he added.
Yaqub, who was born to Saudi parents, was handed to the Turkish couple, who were living in Najran at the time. Their biological son Ali was handed to Muhammad Al-Minjem, a Saudi camel breeder in Najran. Yaqub and Ali were both born on Sept. 7, 2003 at the King Khaled Hospital in Najran.
Speaking to the Al-Watan newspaper, Yusuf Joja said he felt deeply wronged. “No one paid attention to our and Yaqub’s suffering. We had brought him up for four years. Meanwhile, my Saudi brother Muhammad Al- Minjem and my biological son Ali, who is in his custody, received lots of official care and attention,” said Joja.
“He (Al- Minjem) received an apology from the Ministry of Health. None of the officials contacted us or care about what sort of psychological condition we’re in... I only received an official phone call from Dr. Adel Habib, general manager of the Psychological Health Authority, who was just doing his job,” he added.
Joja said that he has been suffering for four years searching for is son. “My wife is also suffering, in fact more. She hasn’t stopped crying since we found out that we may need to give up the boy who we’ve been raising for four years,” he said.
“Without the consolation of Najran Gov. Prince Mishaal we couldn’t bear to remain in the Kingdom for one day,” he said. On Nov. 11 Arab News reported that a Shariah court in Najran was expected to issue a verdict about the case in two weeks time. The case is currently being investigated by the Directorate of Health Affairs in Najran, which received DNA test results confirming that the boys were mistakenly swapped at birth.
Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie has previously called for staff at the hospital to be severely punished for the mistake. Khaled Mirghalani, spokesman for the Health Ministry, previously told local newspapers, “The ministry is trying its best to psychologically and socially rehabilitate the two families involved.”
According to Al-Watan newspaper, Al-Minjem, upset at being separated from his son, is planning to sue the Ministry of Health for SR50 million in damages. Al-Minjem also said that his family was going through an emotional crisis.
In a previous report, Yusuf Joja, the Turkish father, said that when he was first handed Yaqub he had doubts that he was his son. “A very serious feeling was growing inside me. I contacted the hospital several times and I met a number of officials there, but they didn’t take my suspicions seriously. One of them told me to fear God and asked how I could raise such doubts,” said Joja.
The couple went to Turkey where Joja and his wife underwent DNA tests, which confirmed that Yaqub was not their biological child. The couple then decided to return to Saudi Arabia to search for their real son. They lodged a complaint at the Ministry of Health, which in turn ordered another DNA test that proved that Yaqub was not their son.
The Interior Ministry together with the Health Ministry assigned a team to search for the Joja family’s biological child in Najran. After sometime, it was found out that a boy with Turkish features was living with a Saudi family.
Joja, who used to own a workshop in Najran and has since moved back to Turkey, said that as much as his wife is happy at being reunited with her biological son, she is grieving the departure of Yaqub, who she raised and loved like her own for four years.
