Cairo: A Saudi court has ruled in favour of a woman who was viciously attacked by her husband in a case that triggered outrage in the kingdom, a Saudi newspaper has reported.
The husband had attacked the woman with a sharp tool, inflicting wounds in various areas of the body and prompting surgery for her, according to media reports.
The assailant was arrested and is due to go on trial.
A Saudi lawyer pleaded the woman’s case at the court that ruled annulling her marriage contract, Okaz newspaper said.
The lawyer Nessrin Al Ghamdi also obtained court verdicts in favour of the woman, dubbed in the media “The Jeddah victim of domestic violence”, awarding her the right to take custody of her eight children and gets SR5,200 in monthly alimony.
“The ruling of annulling the marriage contract was based on an official medical report that proved the wife had sustained grievous injuries at the hands of her husband who is currently in custody,” the lawyer told Okaz.
She pointed out that the woman had suffered from swelling of eyes, cuts in the eyebrows, multiple bruises in the head, knees, face and arms, as well as fractures in the arm, nose, face, the right eye and vertebrae due to the attack.
The court awarded the woman the immediate custody right of her children and be in charge of finalising procedures related to them at different state and private institutions as well as embassies.
The case surfaced after police were alerted by a hospital in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah about arrival of a woman subjected to an attack by her husband.
The victim stayed at the intensive care unit for days and underwent surgery.
