JEDDAH — A mother has regained custody of her two-year-old daughter after her ex-husband manipulated and lied to her in order to earn custody of the child, Al-Watan daily reported. The mother of the little girl said when her husband divorced her she filed for custody of the child. “My daughter was still an infant and she needed me to be by her side. I filed a custody case but lost the case because my husband manipulated me into losing it,” said the mother. She said her ex-husband told her that the divorce case had been dropped and that there was no need to claim custody. “He told me he would renew our marriage contract and that he had already processed the paperwork and the case had been dropped. However, all of that was not true. He lied to me so I wouldn't attend the court hearings and lose the case,” said the mother. She also said she had no idea of his scheme until Jeddah General Court sent her a notice informing her that she had lost custody of her child because she did not attend court hearings. “I contacted my lawyer Bayan Zahran and informed her of what had happened. She filed an appeal and pursued the case until I regained custody of my daughter,” said the mother. Zahrani said her client came to her in a torrent of tears begging for a solution. “I myself was surprised by the news. Her ex-husband tricked her and manipulated her to prove to the court that he is a more dependable parent. I reviewed the case file and found that custody battles must be settled in the interest of the child in question,” said Zahran, who filed an appeal claiming that her client never received the court summons. “According to the law, the defendant must be summoned personally if he or she fails to respond to other forms of communication. Moreover, the child in question is only two years old, which is a critical age for the child and her mother,” said Zahran. She said the Court of Appeals accepted her plea and rejected the Personal Status Court's initial decision to grant the father custody. “My client won the case and regained custody of her little girl. The Court of Appeals was very sympathetic and understanding toward the mother as cases in which men try to cheat the law are very common,” said Zahran. Legal consultant Rayan Mufti said a court can only issue a verdict without the presence of the defendant or the plaintiff when one of them has been absent for at least three court hearings. “The plaintiff and the defendant have the right to be informed personally and have a period of 30 days to respond before the court issues an absence warning. In the case of the woman who lost custody of her daughter to her ex-husband because he lied to her, she has the right to take the case directly to the Supreme Court without even appealing or opening a new case,” said Mufti. He added the ex-husband's act was a clear manipulation of the law, which would not only harm his ex-wife's life but also his daughter's.
