UAE: Woman accuses husband of ‘bewitching’ her, gifting her Dh1 million cheque that bounced

An Arab woman has accused her husband of luring her into marriage using witchcraft and beating her up, causing severe injuries to her body.

The woman also told the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance that the man gave her a Dh1 million cheque as a marriage gift but it later bounced, as he didn't have sufficient funds in his bank account.

Official court documents stated that the woman had filed a complaint to authorities, saying that her husband beat her up badly after he learnt she was going to report him to police for giving her a dud cheque.

The woman said she only realised later that the man had given her a fake wedding gift. When she said she would report him, he kicked and punched various parts of her body. The man then grabbed the cheque from her and locked her inside the bedroom to prevent her from reporting the matter to authorities.

But the woman used the home phone and called police, who came to her rescue. She said she suffered severe injuries on her face and arms and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

As a result of her injuries, the woman said she spent more than 20 days in pain and couldn't perform any duties.

She told authorities that when she came to her husband's home after their wedding, she discovered the man practised sorcery. He reportedly used to bring water and spray it around the house. She also found a paper with talismans, which was engraved with her name. She claimed the man had used witchcraft to persuade her into the marriage.

Her lawyer, Abeer Al Dahmani, said that according to a medical report, her client suffered many wounds, including pain in the shoulder and hand, and many bruises in various parts of the body due to the beatings.

The man had denied assaulting his wife and giving her a dud cheque when he appeared in court. The trial was adjourned to a future date.