http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=107381&d=2&m=3&y=2008&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily
Sunday 2 March 2008 (24 Safar 1429)
Madinah Woman Complains to NSHR of Abusive Half-Brother
Arab News -
MADINAH, 2 March 2008 - A teacher in Madinah whose half-brother has
prevented her from contacting her husband for five years and subjected her to
abuse, insults and death threats has sought the help of the National Society
for Human Rights (NSHR), Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.
The woman, who is suffering emotionally as a result and cannot
sleep without prescribed medication, said her half brother has also threatened
to kill her brothers from her mother's side if they interfere in her affairs.
In spite of the threats, the woman filed a lawsuit against the man, who was
arrested and made to sign a letter saying he would not bother her.
The woman said her half-brother threatened to kill them with a
machine gun. "Sometimes my mother and I go to sleep at our neighbor's house
because we're scared of him. He didn't show up at any of the prosecution
hearings and came back to threaten us again," the woman told Al-Madinah.
"He doesn't care about anything or anybody. So I decided to
complain to the NSHR," said the woman, adding that she married five years ago
but did not begin living with her husband because of her brother, who also
threatened to kill her husband if he did not divorce her.
"He told me, 'when if you get divorced, don't dream of getting
married again. Your brothers and your mother are not allowed to decide where
and when you marry. You'll only marry according to my wishes and if anyone
interferes then I'll kill them all and I'll fill graves with your bodies," she
said.
To add to her pain, the man has also ruined her reputation,
claiming that she was involved in an illicit relationship with her husband
before marriage.
"I swear by God that I never met the man who became my husband
before our marriage according to our traditions. My husband has told my other
brothers that he still wants me, but he is scared," she said.
The woman further called on concerned bodies to interfere and solve
her problem so as to help her lead a normal life. "I'm still dreaming of
uniting with my husband and having kids," she added
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