Jump to content

Sattam bin Khalid Al Saud

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sattam bin Khalid Al Saud
IssueHaya
Names
Sattam bin Khalid bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
HouseHouse of Saud
FatherKhalid bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Sattam bin Khalid bin Nasser Al Saud, is a member of House of Saud and a grandson of Prince Nasser.

Personal life

[edit]

In 1998, Sattam met Candice Cohen-Ahnine in London at a nightclub while vacationing in London[1][2] when she was 18 years old.[3] In November 2001, their daughter, Haya, was born.[4]

The relationship between Sattam and Cohen-Ahnine continued, despite their differences in religion and nationality[3] until Sattam announced in 2006 that he was obligated to marry a cousin, but that Cohen-Ahnine could remain a second wife. Cohen-Ahnine, however, refused to become a second wife, and the two began to separate.[5]

In September 2008, Prince Sattam allegedly kidnapped Haya when she and her mother visited Saudi Arabia.[6] Cohen-Ahnine said that she had been accused by the Saudi authorities of being a Muslim who converted to Judaism, a capital crime in Saudi Arabia, and was held in the prince's palace. However, she reportedly escaped when a maid left her door open and fled to the French embassy,[5][7] and subsequently returned to France.[3] Since then, Haya has been living in a palace in Riyadh, while France's Foreign Ministry (as well as former French President Nicolas Sarkozy)[5] has attempted to bring the child back to France.[1] Haya spoke occasionally with her mother by telephone.[3]

Sattam denied that he had kidnapped either Haya or her mother, saying that Cohen-Ahnine was allowed to "come and go as she pleased" and that she had converted to Islam and married him under Islamic law. The prince said the terms of the divorce, which were put through courts in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, required that the parents share custody of the child. Sattam also said that a protocol was created that offered Cohen-Ahnine a house (all expenses paid) access to Haya, and the possibility of taking Haya on vacation for 1.5 months a year.[5]

Cohen-Ahnine was involved in diplomatic attempts to receive custody of Haya, and wrote a book about her struggle, titled Give My Daughter Back![1] She stated that she had seen Facebook pictures of Haya in a niqab and playing with the Prince's firearms, and became concerned over her daughter.[5] Cohen-Ahnine died on 16 August 2012 after falling to her death from a window in Paris. Following the court ruling, Cohen-Ahnine prepared to leave for Riyadh in September 2012 to visit Haya.[7][8][9]

In 2012, Sattam married the Governor of Jazan Prince Mohammed bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz's daughter in Riyadh.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Jewish mother wins custody battle against Saudi royal prince". Israel Hayom. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Une mère se bat pour récupérer sa petite princesse saoudienne". Lextimes. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jewish mother wins a round in custody battle with Saudi prince". Jewish Telegraph Agency. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  4. ^ Lauter, Devorah (19 August 2012). "French mother in custody battle with Saudi prince falls to her death". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e Samuel, Henry (31 January 2012). "French Jewish mother wins custody battle against Saudi prince". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  6. ^ "The Saudi Prince and the death of his French Jewish ex-lover". Albawaba. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  7. ^ a b "French probe death of mother in Saudi custody battle". BBC. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  8. ^ Zilberstein, Lior (20 August 2012). "Tragic end for Jewish woman in custody battle with Saudi prince". Yedioth Ahronot. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  9. ^ Tepper, Greg (20 August 2012). "Saudi prince's Jewish ex-wife (sic) dies". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  10. ^ "الأمير سطام بن خالد بن ناصر يحتفل بزواجه من كريمة الأمير محمد بن ناصر". Al Riyadh. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.