Saudi Gazette report



JEDDAH — The Court of Appeals in Jeddah upheld a lower court verdict sentencing a woman and her husband to imprisonment after they were found responsible for the death of a son from the woman’s previous husband, the Arabic daily Al-Watan reported on Monday.



Quoting a forensic report, the court said the six-year-old child had about 20 bruises in various parts of his body.



The court considered the bruises to be solid evidence to confirm that the child was physically abused by his own mother and stepfather.



The prosecution had charged the mother and her husband with first-degree murder and called for capital punishment for the two.



The judge, however, sentenced the mother to seven years in prison and her husband to nine. The Court of Appeals approved this sentence.



Lawyer Nawwaf Al-Nabati said the mother gave birth to the child from her previous husband and obtained custody rights because the father had ignored his son and never inquired about him.



He said the woman and her husband were arrested and taken to court after police received information that the six-year-old child had died because of physical abuse and that he had more than 20 bruises in various parts of his body.



He said police referred the case to the Public Prosecution, which after investigations charged the woman and her husband with premeditated murder.



The lawyer said investigations confirmed that the physical abuse that the child was subjected to by the parents led to his death.