Bahrain Court Gives Mother Suspended Sentence

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A mother in Bahrain has been found not guilty of deliberately scalding her 14-month-old daughter with hot water, as reported in the Gulf Daily News.  The 26-year-old Jordanian woman had been charged with torture and child abuse, but was acquitted on both counts yesterday.

However, judges held her responsible for her child’s injuries and handed her a one-year suspended jail sentence – meaning she will only serve time behind bars if she commits another offence.  Judges concluded that she accidentally held her daughter under a hot water tap, instead of cold water, when she noticed the child had a fever.

The mother, who has two other children, had always denied deliberately harming her child.  She was arrested on March 6 after her daughter was admitted to hospital with burns.  A medical assessment also concluded the infant had suffered a fracture shoulder, raising concerns of long-running abuse.  However, in April a doctor at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) told judges that injuries suffered by the toddler were the result of a genetic brain disorder – and were not caused by domestic violence.

The High Criminal Court acquitted the mother of torture and child abuse after hearing that after scalding her child with hot water, she sought to relieve her pain by applying burn relief cream.  Judges said they did not wish to separate her from her children, who have remained in her care throughout the trial.  “(This is) within the court’s efforts to ensure the family remains intact and that the victim, as well as her two siblings, receive appropriate care,” stated the ruling.  The child’s father, a Bahraini, was also arrested during the early stages of the investigation, but was later released.  He told prosecutors during questioning that he never suspected his wife of abuse and was surprised at her arrest.