Saudi father burns daughter who asked to see her mom

A Saudi father was accused of burning his 4-year-old daughter with a lighter after she asked to see her mother, whom he is divorced from.

The ex-wife reported to police that the man was physically and emotionally abusing their child Elana, the local newspaper Al-Watan reported. A source said the mother also claimed that her daughter’s stepmother abused the girl as well.

The source said: “The mother said she got married when she was 20 and her husband started abusing her a year and a half after giving birth to their daughter.

“She reported that he locked her out of the house late at night and locked her in the bathroom until she demanded a divorce.” The source added the mother remarried and was able to regularly see her daughter before her ex-husband filed a custody case and won, preventing her from seeing her daughter since.

“The mother lived with her husband in Madinah but after her ex-husband won the custody case he remarried and moved to Jeddah. “The mother divorced her second husband to live in Jeddah and be able to see her daughter.

”The source also said the mother saw the burns on her daughter’s left arm on one of her visits. “The mother took her daughter to hospital and reported the father and his wife to police.

“The father admitted that he caused the burn but said he only meant to scare her and not actually burn her.” Elana’s lawyer and legal consultant Assim Al-Mulla said child abuse is one of the most serious offenses in Saudi Arabia.

“Offenders are subjected to a fine of up to SR50,000 in addition to a year in prison. “The father’s case is currently at the Penal Court. We will not rest until the father and any other relative in the family who has abused her receive the maximum punishment as listed by the law.”

This article was first published in the Saudi Gazette on May 6, 2015.