Saudi Arabia: A Saudi TV presenter who was savagely beaten by her husband has dropped the case against him because of the pressure she has come under since going public about her ordeal.
Ultra-orthodox Saudi clerics had been urging Rania al-Baz to withdraw her claims. She also felt under pressure from women's groups who had adopted her as a symbol of liberation.
The husband, Mohammed Bakr al-Fallatta, an unemployed singer, was released on Saturday after serving only three months of a six-month sentence.
He faced an additional punishment of 300 lashes but her pardon means that has been dropped too.
Ms Baz (29) told a Saudi court yesterday she was also dropping a private compensation claim against him that would have required him to pay her $6,000 or, in theory, receive a beating comparable to the one he dealt out to her.
Fallatta almost killed her at their home in Jeddah on April 4th, repeatedly smashing her face against marble floor tiles and against walls, and strangling her.
Ms Baz's lawyer, Omar al-Khouli, speaking by phone from Jeddah yesterday, said he had attempted to dissuade her from seeking the reduction in sentence.
Mr Khouli said she had felt under pressure from the clerics but mainly from women's groups who urged her not to abandon the case. Ms Baz was also motivated by concern for her two sons, aged three and five.
By giving up the case, he said her divorce should go through smoothly in about a month and she will have custody of the children indefinitely, with her husband only having visiting rights. - (Guardian service)