LEGAL CUSTODY of the son of a dead Bahraini and his former Western expatriate wife has been awarded to the child’s paternal grandmother by a Lower Sharia Court, although the mother and child have already left the country.
The boy, aged under 10, whose mother was married to the Bahraini, moved away with his mum four years ago, lawyer Taqi Hussain Taqi said.
Before his death, the father had initially taken the matter to court to win custody of his son, and in 2021 it ruled in his favour.
He died in January of this year, aged in his early forties.
After her son’s untimely death, his elderly mother – the child’s grandmother – raised another custody lawsuit against her former daughter-in-law.
His grandfather and uncle were also listed as plaintiffs in the case. Both grandparents are in their 80s and the uncle is in his 60s.
“In 2019, the defendant went back to her home country with her son,” Mr Taqi, who represents the boy’s family, told the GDN.
Although the court’s Family Dispute Settlement Office tried to help the defendant and plaintiffs find middle ground, no settlement was reached.
Verdict documents list the mother’s religion as the main reason the paternal family were awarded custody of the youngster, he added.
“As per Bahraini Family Law, the conditions for custody are Islam, sanity, ability, trustworthiness, being of legal age and being free of communicable or dangerous diseases,” read court documents.
“Custody is dropped if the guardian does not meet one of these requirements.
“The grandmother’s request to gain custody of her grandson is based on the fact that the defendant, the mother, is not Muslim. In the marriage certificate, the mother was listed as non-Muslim.”
According to the Sharia judge, this decision was further supported by the rules of the sect to whom the late father belonged, which is one of the major schools of Islam.
Furthermore, the family’s case was strengthened by the fact that the mother’s own custody battle was dropped in 2021.
“Bahraini Family Law also states that custody cannot be given to a person living in another country without the permission of the child’s guardian or guardian’s heir,” court documents said.
Meanwhile, it appears that the foreign national is not aware of the rulings and was not represented at the verdict hearing.
Her country of origin and where she has resettled with her son was not released in court documents and she was described as a ‘foreigner’.
“There are currently no open channels of communication with the woman and she cannot be reached,” lawyer Mr Taqi added.
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