Wife divorces husband for long absence

A husband returning from Iraq after a year was "shocked" to find that his wife had divorced him.

The UAE national who claimed to have been held in captivity by an Iraqi insurgent group for more than nine months on return to Dubai discovered his changed marital status.

The man, who went on a humanitarian trip to Iraq, says he was kidnapped and held captive for more than nine months.

The UAE national wife told the court that she waited for more than a year for her husband to return.

She said her husband's absence made her lonely.

"He did not call. I wasn't even aware whether he was still alive or not," she said.

After a year of waiting, the wife approached the Dubai Sharia Court and filed for divorce.

A Dubai-based lawyer told Gulf News that the Sharia law grants a wife the right to file for divorce if her husband stays away from her for more than one year.

After studying the case, the court decided not to grant a divorce until the wife proved that her husband had been away for more than a year.

The wife brought several witnesses who corroborated her statement and testified that the husband had been away for one year.

The court posted several announcements about the divorce claim, but there was no response.

Finally, the court granted the wife an irrevocable divorce.

Later, the husband returned from Iraq and was shocked at learning the news. He approached the court and explained his absence. He said he was freed after the intervention of the UAE authorities in Iraq.

The man told the court that he wanted to remarry his former wife if she approved.

The man was told that he could remarry her upon a new proposal and new dowry.

Sources at the Dubai court said the man has not shown up since then.