Saudi Gazette report

ABHA — A young girl in Khamis Mushayt has retracted her accusation that her stepmother physically abused her, even though evidence appeared to support her initial claim.



Asir Social Affairs spokesman Ali Al-Asmari told Al-Watan on Sunday: “As a result of this retraction, the case has taken a new turn.



“The young girl has denied before an investigation committee comprising representatives from the social affairs department and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) that she was tortured by her stepmother, who is an Arab expatriate.”



He said the girl had refused to go and live with her mother despite efforts by social workers.



The girl was referred to a hospital for a medical report on her case, he said.



Meanwhile, a human rights activist who did not want to be identified criticized the school for not reporting the case to the authorities quicker.



He said: "The girl stayed with her stepmother for a few days, which was enough time for the stepmother to pressurize her to change her affidavits.



“If it was not the stepmother, who then was responsible for the abuse?”



He said reports from the Human Rights Commission and schoolteachers in addition to the girl’s initial statement all proved that the stepmother was responsible.



Dr. Ihab Al-Solaimani, representative of Amnesty International and the Arab Organization for Human Rights, said the school should have notified the concerned authorities immediately according to the existing rules and regulations.



"The HRC will only intervene at a later stage if concerned government departments fail to do their work," he said.



Al-Solaimani said the girl should be living with her mother.



"It was wrong to leave the girl in the custody of her stepmother, who would not have hesitated to pressurize her to change her accusations, especially as her father is away from home most of the time," he said.



Director of the province's department of education Mohammed Uraidan ordered the formation of a committee to visit the school to assess the condition of the girl and the services provided to her.



The HRC had taken up the case after it received information from the school that the girl was abused.



The school accused the stepmother of abusing the girl, whose mother is separated from her father and living outside Asir with her new husband.