Police here are interrogating several individuals suspected of committing acts of violence against Wael Samir, a four-month-old infant who suffered a double fracture of the left thigh bone and severe bruising all over his body early last week at the Jeddah Charity Association. Sources told Al-Watan newspaper that nurses, officials and infant caretakers at the association were being interrogated to determine who was in charge of Wael and what action was taken when the infant's injuries were discovered. Police will eventually submit the results of their investigation to the competent authorities in the Bureau of Investigation and the public prosecutor's office. “The incident was an accident and no physical violence took place. When it was noticed that the child's leg was red and swollen, he was transferred to a private hospital where they discovered that he had a broken left thigh,” said Mazin Batarjee, manager of Jeddah Charity Association. While noting that a committee from the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) had visited the association and reviewed the course of investigations, Batarjee said the infant's caretaker had been working with the association for 15 years and had no record of abuse. The assistant supervisor of the NSHR, Ibrahim Al-Nahiany, also denied Wael was abused and the head of the women's section at the association, Najlaa Al-Yami, said the fault committed by Wael's caretaker was accidental and occurred while she was looking after him. “An extended investigation is taking place now and the relevant employees are being questioned. It is worth mentioning that the medical report issued by doctors reveals that Wael, who is bottle fed, suffers from osteoporosis and was not subjected to any form of physical abuse,” said Al-Yami. In a statement issued Sunday, human rights activist and lawyer Ehab Al-Sulaimani and fellow attorney Tala'at Attar accused the association of trying to cover up the issue and deny responsibility. “They tried to cover up the issue. We received photos of the abused infant and then reported the issue to police. The Minister of Social Affairs has also been notified of the incident,” said Al-Sulaimani while calling for an investigation and punishment for the aggressor.
