DNA Test Rescues 21-Year-Old Girl, Grants Her Legal Identity

TDT | Manama     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A 21-year-old girl who lived for years without official documentation finally received her identity papers and legal recognition as the daughter of her father thanks to a DNA test. The Sharia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the girl, ordering her name to be included in all official documents and requiring the father to cover the court expenses.

The details of the case were revealed by lawyer Zahraa Neamah, who represented the mother and daughter. She stated that her client had married the defendant through a legal marriage contract witnessed by two individuals and with a dowry of 100 dinars.

The couple lived together as husband and wife and had a daughter in May 2003. However, the father denied paternity, leaving the girl without any legal documents until she turned 20.

The mother filed a lawsuit demanding proof of the marital relationship and the girl's lineage to her father. The first-instance court dismissed the case, prompting an appeal.

Neamah argued before the court that the case should be referred for investigation and the girl sent to the forensic department for blood samples to conduct a DNA test.

She pointed out that the first-instance court's disregard for this request constituted a violation of the appellant's rights and rendered the judgment flawed in reasoning and justification.

The Sharia Court of Appeals issued a preliminary ruling to appoint a forensic doctor to conduct a DNA test on the girl, the mother, and the alleged father at the Public Prosecution's General Department of Material Evidence.

The DNA test report concluded that the alleged father is the girl's biological father and the mother is her biological mother, according to international scientific standards.

The lawyer mentioned that the husband appeared in court and testified that he had lived with the mother as husband and wife before, during, and after the pregnancy.

He acknowledged the girl as his daughter and his biological child.

The court, in its judgment, stated that based on the DNA test results and the father's verbal acknowledgment in court, the girl's lineage to her father is established.

The court expressed its confidence in the DNA test as conclusive evidence and ordered the inclusion of the girl's name in all official documents with her father's name.