Mother on trial in Saudi for torturing her children

The mother is a naturalised Saudi citizen.

A mother in Saudi Arabia has gone on trial for the torture of her three children.
According to a report by Arab News, the incident took place in the Khaibar province of Madinah region, where the victims - a boy and two girls - were confined inside their home and tortured for three years.
The father was unable to intervene as he is disabled and wheelchair-bound after having lost his legs to gangrene, the report added. 
The case came to light after a video clip, showing one of the boys being tortured, went viral.
The three kids were starved and regularly beaten by the woman, a naturalised Saudi citizen.
An uncle of the children said their mother got Saudi nationality after getting married.
The traumatised children, the eldest of whom is a 20-year-old daughter, have been moved to social care centers in Madinah. The boy is in need of urgent medical attention due to his poor health condition.
An official spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Development said that the ministry in coordination with relevant authorities had shifted the case to Madinah for investigation.
According to initial investigations, the mother was helped by two older stepbrothers, who were arrested but later released on bail.
The mother was found unfit to take care of her children and is being prosecuted, added the official.
"She betrayed her maternal instincts and subjected her children to harshest violence, all in front of their father who has been confined to a wheelchair," adding that she tortured the children due to financial issues.
It is noteworthy that the younger daughter had allegedly complained about family violence two years ago, but no one took action.
The uncle has requested that the woman's nationality be withdrawn and that the family was planning to file a complaint at the higher level against her.
The story originally appeared here.

• Saudi Arabia
• MENA