Bahraini Woman's Search for Missing Twin Fails in Court

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com   

A Bahraini woman's legal battle to uncover the fate of her missing twin, born 20 years ago at Salmaniya Medical Complex, has ended in disappointment. The Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss her claim, citing lack of evidence and the passage of time.

The woman, who had only received her firstborn child after the delivery, alleged that she had given birth to twins but never received any documentation regarding the second child. She claimed that she had no knowledge of the child's fate, whether alive or deceased.

In her lawsuit, she demanded that the medical complex provide a report on the birth, and issue a birth certificate or a death certificate for the missing child. The lower court dismissed the claim, stating that it lacked specific requests.

The woman appealed the decision, leading the Court of Appeal to request information from Salmaniya Medical Complex. The hospital confirmed that no medical or electronic records existed for the woman.

The Court of Appeals, in its ruling, stated that the lack of medical records, coupled with the woman's failure to provide evidence of a twin pregnancy, and her delay in pursuing the matter for over two decades, ultimately weakened her case. The court also emphasised that the birth certificate of her existing child, while indicating Salmaniya Medical Complex as the place of birth, did not automatically prove the existence of a second child.

The court ultimately dismissed the appeal, leaving the woman with no answers about the fate of her missing twin.