Cairo: Fighting a legal battle of more than a year, Egyptian actress Zeina on Thursday won a court ruling upholding her lawsuit that film star Ahmad Ezz is the father of her twin children.
The Family Court in Cairo ordered authorities to officially register Ezz, who is an Egyptian national, as the biological father of her two children now aged 18 months.
The ruling marks a climax in a legal tug-of-war initiated by Zeina in 2013 after Ezz denied he married the actress or is the father of the two boys.
Ezz, famed for thrillers, refused to undergo DNA tests to decide on the twins’ fatherhood.
The dispute, rare in Egypt’s celebrity community, has made local headlines and riveted the conservative nation’s attention for months.
In court appearances, Zeina said that the twins were the result of an unregistered marriage she had with Ezz in June 2012.
Zeina, 34, who was at the courtroom on Thursday, burst into tears after chief judge Rafik al-Saadi issued the verdict.
“Thank God, the truth has prevailed. I thank everybody who stood by me,” she said as she emerged from the court building.
Ezz, 43, did not show up. His lawyer said he would appeal the verdict.
The ruling allows Zeina to obtain official documents, including birth certificates, for the two children, with Ezz named as their father.
