Ministry of Health being sued by Turkish and Saudi fathers JEDDAH – The Board of Grievances in Riyadh will on Monday consider the lawsuits of a Saudi father and Turkish father against the Ministry of Health for allegedly mistakenly swapping their sons shortly after they were born at a hospital in Najran in 2003. The lawsuits against the ministry have been filed by Saudi national Muhammad Salim Aal Munajjim and Turkish resident Yusuf Juja. They are demanding compensation from the Ministry of Health because of the alleged error. The boys were returned to their genetic families after four years living with the wrong parents. Both boys, Yaqoub and Ali could not speak the language of their genetic parents and have reportedly struggled to adapt. Yaqoub is the Saudi boy now living with his biological family in Najran. He has had special classes arranged for him so that he can learn to speak Arabic. Abdullah Rajab Aal Musharraf, lawyer of the Saudi family, and Katib Al-Shammari, lawyer of the Turkish family, said the Administrative Court has to consider such a case because it is a lawsuit for compensation. The Ministry of Health's officials have argued that the Shariah Health Commission is the correct body to consider the matter. The lawyers said that there is a causal relationship between the alleged error made by the Ministry of Health and the harm inflicted on the two families. They said the verdict should be to compensate the families so that it acts as a deterrent for officials from the Ministry of Health and other government authorities. The Saudi father has reportedly been quoted as saying he wants to sue the ministry for SR50 million. They expressed confidence that the judiciary would be fair to the two families, whose members are suffering from severe psychological, social and financial problems. They said that the families need counseling. This is because the return of the boys to their biological families was allegedly done in such a haphazard manner. The children have failed to bond with their families because of the differences in customs, tradition and language. The two lawyers said they have medical reports from specialist centers proving the poor psychological condition of the two families. They pointed out that the verdict issued by the General Court in Najran proves that an error was made by the Ministry of Health, which is still absolving itself of any blame. The two boys are still carrying the names resulting from the error – the Turkish boy is carrying the name given to him by the Saudi father and vice versa. The mistake was discovered by the Turkish father, Juja, who was doubtful that the baby boy handed to him in September 2003 was his son. When he returned to Turkey, he took DNA tests which proved the boy was not his biological son. This started a chain of events which included the Saudi authorities stepping in to search for his son. They eventually did and the boys were then swapped, causing a considerable degree of trauma to both families. Juja reportedly said that his wife cried constantly when the Saudi boy, Yaqoub, she had raised for four years, was returned to his family, even though she had her own son, Ali, returned to her.
