Crackers Phinn
Either A Blessing Or A Lesson.
A US woman's divorce battle in Saudi Arabia shows the nightmare foreign women can face in its labyrinthine legal system
Teresa Malof, 51, says she has been mistreated in her attempts to divorce her ex-husband Mazen al-Mubarak, the father to her three children. As a result, she says, she is stuck paying for their martial home while he lives in it. al-Mubarak, the son of Saudi Arabia's former ambassador to Qatar, has used her unfamiliarity with the Saudi legal system and inability to speak Arabic to turn the tables against her, she told Insider.
Malof, who is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, married al-Mubarak in 2000 and filed for divorce in 2015. The divorce was approved, but the settlement is now bogged down in the courts. The most obvious injustice, in Malof's view, is that al-Mubarak continues to live alone in a house in Riyadh for which she pays the mortgage of $2,831 a month.
Neither the Saudi embassy in Washington, nor its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, has responded to multiple requests for comment from Insider.
The case follows that of Bethany Vierra, a US citizen who became trapped in Saudi Arabia by the Kingdom's guardianship laws in March, and later lost custody of her child when her ex-husband used images of her in a bikini to show she was unfit to parent.
Malof's and Vierra's stories highlight the reality for non-Saudis under their legal system, which is based on the Qur'an, which contains God's revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, and the Sunnah, the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad.
In some cases, evidence submitted to court is invalid unless witnessed by two Muslim men.
Malof says she first approached the embassy for help in 2017, but that US officials only recently decided to act.
"I have lived in this country for more than twenty years" she told Insider. "Going public and talking badly about Saudi Arabia has never been my goal. However, what choice do I have?"
- A US nurse's divorce battle against her Saudi husband shows the nightmare foreign women face in Saudi Arabia's sharia-based court system.
- Teresa Malof, 51, divorced in 2015, but has struggled in Saudi Arabia's labyrinthine legal system. In the meantime, she is paying for her marital home in which her husband lives for free.
- Speaking to Insider, Malof claims that the judge in Saudi Arabia has been consistently discriminating against her, and recently annulled her divorce.
- The US Embassy has sent a diplomatic inquiry to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malof's name, seeking clarification over the allegations. It is very rare for officials to involve themselves in such cases.
- Arabic court documents reviewed by Insider corroborate parts of Malof's story.
- The case follows that of Bethany Vierra, a US citizen who lost custody of her 4-year-old to her ex-husband's family after he used photos of her in a bikini to claim she was unfit to be a parent.
Teresa Malof, 51, says she has been mistreated in her attempts to divorce her ex-husband Mazen al-Mubarak, the father to her three children. As a result, she says, she is stuck paying for their martial home while he lives in it. al-Mubarak, the son of Saudi Arabia's former ambassador to Qatar, has used her unfamiliarity with the Saudi legal system and inability to speak Arabic to turn the tables against her, she told Insider.
Malof, who is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, married al-Mubarak in 2000 and filed for divorce in 2015. The divorce was approved, but the settlement is now bogged down in the courts. The most obvious injustice, in Malof's view, is that al-Mubarak continues to live alone in a house in Riyadh for which she pays the mortgage of $2,831 a month.
Neither the Saudi embassy in Washington, nor its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, has responded to multiple requests for comment from Insider.
The case follows that of Bethany Vierra, a US citizen who became trapped in Saudi Arabia by the Kingdom's guardianship laws in March, and later lost custody of her child when her ex-husband used images of her in a bikini to show she was unfit to parent.
Malof's and Vierra's stories highlight the reality for non-Saudis under their legal system, which is based on the Qur'an, which contains God's revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, and the Sunnah, the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad.
In some cases, evidence submitted to court is invalid unless witnessed by two Muslim men.
Malof says she first approached the embassy for help in 2017, but that US officials only recently decided to act.
"I have lived in this country for more than twenty years" she told Insider. "Going public and talking badly about Saudi Arabia has never been my goal. However, what choice do I have?"
Lmao at under 40. 
