Ex-wife wins legal battle

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com   

A mother’s legal struggle to recover her children’s passports and IDs from her obstructive ex-husband has ended in victory with a favourable court ruling. The expatriate woman took legal action after her Bahraini ex-husband refused to hand over the documents despite numerous requests.

According to lawyer Jassim Al Essa, the couple, who had three children together, had their custody arrangement settled in the woman’s favour following their divorce. However, her ex-husband exploited the separation to block the issuance of identity cards and a passport for their youngest child. Undeterred, she sought a court order from the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports, and Residence Affairs to secure a passport for the youngest child, as well as identity cards for all three children from the Information and eGovernment Authority.

She also requested that her ex-husband cover the legal costs. Al Essa argued that Bahraini law supports the children’s right to these documents, citing Article 4 of Decree-Law No. 12 of 1989, which affirms that children born to a Bahraini father are Bahraini nationals regardless of their birthplace, and Article 2 of Law No. 11 of 1975, which guarantees Bahraini nationals the right to passports.

The High Civil Court agreed with the mother’s claims, ordering the issuance of a passport for the youngest child and identity cards for all three children. The court also directed the father to cover the legal fees.

This ruling affirmed the children’s Bahraini citizenship through their father and ensured their right to identity documents as residents of Bahrain.