One of Jordan's top law firms has filed a case to have Siham Qandah restored as legal guardian of her two minor children, Rawan (15) and Fadi (14). According to a May 30 report from Compass Direct, the case is to present evidence that Abdullah al-Muhtadi, the current Muslim guardian and Qandah's estranged brother, has embezzled at least 13,000 Jordanian dinars (over $24,000 CDN) from the orphan benefits held in trust for the children.
The children's father died in 1994 while serving with UN peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. After his death, documents, apparently falsified, were presented stating that he had converted to Islam. As such, the children were legally considered Muslims and required a Muslim guardian to receive the orphan benefits. In order to receive and administer them, Qandah asked her brother to become the children's legal guardian. He agreed and for three years functioned in this role, although he only occasionally gave the money to the family. In 1998, al-Muhtadi began legal proceedings to take the children from his sister's custody. Two separate courts have since ruled in his favour, including the Supreme Court in 2002.
Continue to pray for Qandah and her children. Pray that this court case will be successful and that she will be able to retain custody of her children.
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