Saudi court annuls child marriage

Riyadh : A Saudi man in his eighties has married a fifteen-year-old teenage girl in the region of Abu Areesh.

A judge at the Court of Areesh issued a verdict abrogating the marriage and referring the cleric who married them to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.

The elderly groom had lodged a case to recover the dowry and divorce his child bride who refused to have sex with him.

The Saudi Justice Ministry bans marriage with girls under the age of 16 unless officially authorized by a specialized court.