Summary of story from Arab News, September 19, 2011.
An Asian maid who gave birth to an illegitimate child is pleading with Saudi Arabian authorities not to deport her son with her as she fears for their safety.
The woman is currently serving two years in a Makkah prison as punishment for having the child out of wedlock – and faces deportation.
Adoption proceedings have already begun for the baby boy, and a Saudi couple agreed to take the child into their home.
However, the authorities have said that the child should be deported with its mother.
The Asian woman, who is married, has expressed fears that her husband will kill her and the child if she takes him home with her.
A preacher at Makkah prisons, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Shahrani, supports her case.
“It is unimaginable for a woman to go back to her family after an absence with a child not conceived with her husband. She will definitely face grave consequences,” he said.
He has asked the authorities to leave the boy in the care of his foster family.
The Social Affairs Minister’s spokesman Muhammad Al-Awad has said that the extenuating circumstances of this particular case could overrule the law that a child should accompany his or her mother.
