Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — A Saudi man has approached the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) claiming his relatives had forcibly separated him from his wife, Al-Watan Arabic daily reported. The 28-year-old government employee, identified only by his initials A.M., also claimed that his signature on the divorce document issued by a family court in Jeddah was forged. Director of the NSHR's Makkah region branch Omar Hafiz said the society referred the case to the concerned authorities in the Makkah governorate. A.M. said he married his wife, a well-mannered and pious woman, with the consent of her family. However, after the marriage took place, his family began giving his wife a hard time because she was from a different tribe, A.M. said. “My family refused to accept my wife because she was not from my tribe. Matters escalated and eventually my family started torturing my wife,” he said. The man added that his family claimed he was mentally unstable and accused him of being disobedient toward his parents. They allegedly took away his ID and forged his signature to obtain the divorce order. “Several members of my family took me by force in a car to the personal status court. When I refused to enter the courtroom, they took all my identification papers and got a divorce document issued by the court despite the fact that I did not appear before the judge nor did I sign any document. They then went to the local Civil Status Department branch and removed my wife's name from the family register. They kicked me out of the house later,” he added. A.M. has filed several complaints, copies of which Al-Watan obtained. They were directed to the Makkah governorate, Jeddah Police, Jeddah Governorate, the NSHR and the Ministry of Social Affairs. He questioned how a divorce order was issued despite the fact that he never divorced his wife of eight months. A.M. is demanding that his divorce be voided and his wife returned to him. The woman's father, whose name was withheld by Al-Watan, said they were shocked when their son-in-law's family showed them the divorce order. “We have suffered a lot at the hands of my daughter's in-laws. Once, we received a telephone call from my daughter asking for help. I immediately went to her house and found that her mother-in-law was threatening to kill her,” he said. The father said he reached an understanding with her in-laws that he would take his daughter home with him. After that, he received a telephone call from the police station in Al-Jamea district saying they had received a complaint from the family accusing him of kidnapping his son-in-law. “How can I kidnap a 28-year-old man?” he asked. Lawyer Ali Hassan Al-Shehri said he met the distraught husband in the Grand Mosque in Makkah several weeks ago. "When I heard his story, I advised him to lodge complaints with the Makkah governorate, Ministry of Social Affairs, NSHR and the police,” Al-Shehri said. “The case was referred to the Al-Jamea police station, but the man's family made a report accusing him of being disobedient and insane.” Al-Shehri demanded an investigation into the injustice that has befallen his client and all guilty parties punished. “My client was referred to a mental hospital but he was proven to be sane. He is still being imprisoned on false charges,” he added.
