Forced-divorce victims; Fatima, Mansour finally together
By WALAA HAWARI | ARAB NEWS
RIYADH: After over fours years of legal wrangling over whether step-brothers can forcibly divorce a relative, Fatima Al-Azzaz and Mansour Al-Timani finally went home as a married couple with children on Wednesday night, after the Supreme Judicial Council overruled on Saturday a lower court's in-absentia marriage annulment between the couple.
A source at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) lauded the conclusion of this case, saying the HRC's president Bandar Al-Iban, "pointed out that the decision of Supreme Judicial Council reflects the judicial system's independence, impartiality and care for the benefit of family and the rights of children."
The HRC also commended the efforts of lawyer Ahmad Al-Sudairi, who was retained by the HRC to represent the couple.
The marriage of the couple was annulled in June 2005 by a judge in Jouf at the behest of Al-Azzaz's half brothers, who claimed Al-Timani lied to the woman's father about his tribal background when he approached him for his daughter's hand in marriage in 2002.
The yearlong court battle, which included detaining Al-Azzaz — who is in her 30s — as a ward of the state for her refusal to return to the custody of her family, revolved around the question of whether male relatives of a woman can legally intervene on a marriage on the basis of tribal incompatibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment