Saudi dad arrested after video shows him slapping his infant daughter, baby rescued & reunited with mother

Police in Saudi Arabia have arrested a father who was seen on a video clip slapping his infant daughter and violently shaking her.

The 29-year-old Saudi national was apprehended after his divorced wife, Nareeman, posted the clip on twitter, pleading for assisting to rescue their daughter Dareen from the torture inflicted by her dad.

"I urge every official and every lawyer to protect my daughter from torture,” the mother tweeted.
The video went viral and the authorities responded by asking the mother to contact them in order to help end the baby's ordeal. The wife, 23, told Saudi daily Okaz that she was a Syrian citizen and that she married her Saudi husband four years earlier under an agreement that he would give her 100,000 Saudi Riyals in case they divorced.

"The marriage was approved by both our families and last four years," Nareeman said. "We had our baby daughter three months ago. I discovered that he never authenticated our marriage contract, which meant that I had no rights. As I insisted, he divorced me and kept our daughter in his custody after the father threatened her. He started torturing her and sent me clips to put extra emotional pressure on me."

Nareeman said that she wanted protection for her baby and for herself as well as her rights from the marriage. An official from the labour and social development ministry said that they were able to take Dareen from the home of her paternal grandfather in Makkah and transferred her to the home for the protection of children.

Nareman has been reunited with her infant daughter, Saudi Gazette reports. A video of the emotional reunion was released few days ago, where the mother could be seen hugging Dareen.