The stereotype of the wicked stepmother, the meat of so many fairytales, unfortunately has some truth behind it. Saudi Gazette reports on the death sentence handed down by a Jeddah court to the father of a girl tortured to death. The father claims he was goaded into the act by his second wife. The stepmother, who also took part in torturing the girl, received a five-year jail sentence which the girl’s divorced mother says is too lenient. She will appeal the verdict and seek the death penalty.

Father in Areej torture case gets death sentence
Muhammed Saeed Al-Zahrani

TAIF – A Jeddah court sentenced a man to death for torturing and killing his 9-year-old daughter. His wife, the girl’s stepmother, was sentenced to five years in jail and 100 lashes for torturing the girl.

The case of the girl, Areej, had shocked Saudi society last year when doctors found signs of savage torture on the child who was brought dead to a Jeddah hospital. The couple had claimed that Areej committed suicide by leaping from an upper floor of her home.

A three-judge panel at Jeddah General Court passed the verdict after the father, in his confession, indicted his second wife who he said would incite him to beat up Areej and would torture her and burn her with a hot iron in his absence.
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Arab News covers the story as well. In its report, it notes that this is not a unique case in the Kingdom. Earlier this year, a Saudi couple was beheaded for similar abuse of the man’s daughter from a previous marriage.

Dad gets death for killing daughter

JEDDAH: A Saudi man who was convicted of torturing his nine-year-old daughter Areej to death was sentenced to death by a Jeddah court yesterday. The girl’s stepmother, who also took part in the murder, will be jailed for five years.

The court gave its verdict after hearing the views of both parties. The girl’s divorced mother and uncle had appointed a lawyer to represent them in court. The National Society for Human Rights was also following up on the case.
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