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An undocumented expatriate, who gave birth under another woman’s identity and was convicted of impersonation and forgery, has objected to a one-year prison ruling earlier issued by the High Criminal Court.
It found the 31-year-old Moroccan mother guilty in September 2023, and as she was sentenced in absentia, she was granted an opportunity to appear in court yesterday to defend herself.
In February 2020, the woman who had ‘a history of drug abuse’ gave birth to a baby boy in her Juffair apartment, as she reportedly did not have the legal documentation needed to seek medical assistance at a maternity ward.
Her roommate’s sister, a 33-year-old Egyptian woman, lent her an identity card as ‘a humanitarian act’ and was convicted of aiding and abetting the new mother, and received the same sentence.
“I didn’t know that the court had issued a verdict against me until recently,” the Moroccan stated in a hand-written letter addressed to judges. “Back in 2020, as soon as I realised I had given the wrong identification to the hospital, I fixed the mistake and provided my correct information. I made the mistake because I was in labour and was not thinking straight.
“Though the Family Courts were co-operative, Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) refused to issue a birth certificate with the right data, despite the courts’ requests.
“My Bahraini husband and I had to undergo DNA tests just to confirm our parenthood,” she claimed, though no documents were produced alongside the letter.
She further claimed that she gave birth at seven months and was not prepared for the early delivery.
Official SMC documents state that the newborn weighed 2.9kg at birth, which is a healthy weight for a non-premature, full-term baby.
The medical report designated the birth as an ‘unsupported delivery,’ and also described the patient as ‘a smoker, alcoholic and drug abuser’ and would therefore ‘not be breastfeeding’ the child.
She was diagnosed with post-partum depression and was prescribed 6mg of Valium by a psychiatrist. She was discharged after three days in hospital and was taken into custody by police, according to the report.
The GDN earlier reported that the Egyptian co-defendant maintained her innocence throughout all stages of the legal process, stating that she simply wanted to help the Moroccan woman and did not know she her action would be considered illegal.
“My sister asked me to lend my CPR card to help out a woman–in-need who didn’t have any identification,” the Egyptian told judges during the initial trial.
“I saw her screaming through labour, with blood everywhere, and I couldn’t help but give her my card so that she could be taken by ambulance to hospital.
“I only wanted to save the mother and the new-born child, since I am deprived of having children of my own. She was in crisis, laying on the ground that was dirtied by blood and birth tissue. It was a terrifying situation!”
The now-convicted defendant went on to state that she frantically handed the new mother her whole handbag, which happened to not only contain her CPR but also her marriage certificate.
Case files even include the baby’s birth registration form, on which the Moroccan falsely wrote the name of the Egyptian woman and her Bahraini husband.
In the original trial, the Egyptian woman’s lawyer submitted a defence memo to the court, stating that she had no criminal motive and that her innocence was as ‘clear as the sun at noon’.
Her Bahraini husband had received a call from SMC soon after the February 2020 birth, asking him to come register his newly born child.
“I told them that’s not right – I have no relation to the baby and my wife is right here with me, so there was no way she had my baby,” the retired Karbabad banker told prosecutors.
Both women were sentenced to a year in jail, a sentence which will be suspended for three years after the date when a final verdict is issued, which will occur after the women exhaust all two appeal options.
It is not known whether the Egyptian has appealed the sentence.
Judges adjourned the hearing to January 19, when a court-appointed lawyer will appear in court to represent the objecting defendant.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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