A judge in Tabuk has ruled that a divorced Saudi woman can take custody of her two children because their father is addicted to drugs and abuses them physically and psychologically. However, the woman claims that her former husband does not want to recognize the court's decision and continues to harass them. She said she has appealed to various government bodies for protection, but all her attempts have been unsuccessful. The judge, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Saud Al-Jad'ani, issued the verdict which allows her to take custody of the 11-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl. He also ruled that the father has to withdraw his objection to the decision. The Saudi woman divorced her husband 10 years ago. Since then, he has threatened to kill them. He has also tried to run her over with his car. The woman claims her former husband is still pursuing the custody battle using “horrifying” methods. She said she escaped unhurt from his attempt to run her over with his car when she returned recently from her children's schools. She also accuses her former husband of physically and mentally abusing the children. “My former husband took my son to a remote area, placed a knife to his neck and threatened to kill him if he did not accuse me of bad conduct.” She also claims her ex-husband sodomized their son, to terrify him. In her complaint to the Social Protection Office in Tabuk, she said she proved, with various documents, that her children were in a poor psychological state. She said her former husband still storms into her son's school, threatens to attack the teachers and verbally abuses them with shameful words. Despite the court verdict granting her custody, she said the school's administration has refused to prevent him from taking their son with him. She said the school's administration does not recognize the custody document. It wants a written letter from the court forbidding the father from taking his son from school. However, the court refused to issue such a letter saying that a document has already been issued in this regard. She said she has documents that prove her former husband is a drug addict, deals in drugs and practices magic and sorcery to harm others. This is besides his continuous threats to kill her and their children. She has laid official complaints with the region's police. She said that over the past 10 years she has unsuccessfully appealed to several government departments to get protection from her former husband. She claims the courts have refused to support her on the grounds that she is a woman and that her complaint cannot be taken seriously. The woman lamented that the court has refused to grant her a guardianship document because her former husband is still alive. This is despite the recommendation by the Protection Committee at the Ministry of Social Affairs to have him removed as the guardian of the children because he is not qualified and is addicted to drugs.
