Brutalized Saudi presenter gets divorce

JEDDAH -- On Sunday, by court order, Rania Al-Baz was finally divorced from her abusive husband, Mohammed Al-Fallatah. After failing three times to appear in court, Al-Fallatah was brought in by an official of the area where he lives.

"I'm glad it only took four sessions for him to divorce me; I know of other women who can't get divorced for years because their husbands fail to show up in court," Rania said. She was pleased with the ruling even though she had to forfeit SR35,000. She explained, "The judge ordered him to divorce me. He then asked for me to forfeit the SR35,000 which was part of our prenuptial agreement if I asked for a divorce. I agreed to do so and then he had the audacity to ask for custody of our children, claiming that I was an unfit mother. The judge refused to listen to him."

Rania Al-Baz, a Saudi TV presenter, became the face of battered women in Saudi Arabia after her husband beat her almost to death in April. He pinned her to the floor and repeatedly smashed her face into marble tiles and walls while choking her and then dumped her unconscious at a local hospital. She suffered 13 facial fractures and continues to undergo reconstructive surgery. Al-Fallatah surrendered to police on April 19, supposedly to face a charge of attempted murder.

Source: [Arab News]

The charge, however, was changed to severe assault. He was sentenced to six months in jail and 300 lashes. After completing a little over half the sentence, he was released from jail when Rania forfeited her right for monetary compensation and requested his release after he agreed to grant her full custody of their two children.

The first hearing of the divorce case was in September of 2004 but because neither the judge nor the husband showed up, the hearing was rescheduled for December. At the time, Dr. Omar Al-Khouli, the lawyer representing Rania, said, "A case might be delayed for years because of the judge. In this case, a divorce might have been granted after two to five years because of the judge being absent and also because he was trying to reconcile the two parties."

At the next two hearings, Al-Fallatah did not show up. He refused to give Rania a divorce and claimed that he wanted her back for the sake of their children. According to Rania, Al-Fallatah's lawyer was convinced that she had a strong case because there was already a ruling in her favor due to the harm done to her. It was allegedly the lawyer who persuaded Al-Fallatah to divorce her. "Except in extreme cases, judges prefer to hear the husband say that he divorces the wife rather than for judges to grant the divorce," Rania explained. She is scheduled to receive the divorce papers after Haj in late January.