King's 'wife' wants her share
2005-07-02 18:45
London - A woman who claims to be married to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia says she is fighting for a share of his fortune to make him accept his responsibility, The Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
"It is not about money," Janan Harb was quoted as saying. "It is about taking responsibility for someone who lived with you, who gave power to you, who was a great support to you.
"You don't just leave people when you want. I myself take responsibility for a lot of people. It is my duty. Even if you have billions, why don't you take responsibility?"
Harb's legal battle with the ailing 82-year-old Saudi monarch became known last month when Britain's Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling which had kept the proceedings confidential.
The Court of Appeal also gave Harb permission to appeal a lower court ruling that Fahd is immune from any lawsuit outside his country.
The Saudi Embassy has said it would continue to assert the king's immunity from prosecution. It also said Harb's claim "is based on merely an assertion of marriage".
King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke 10 years ago, and he was hospitalised in May with pneumonia and respiratory complications. He is believed to have little control over his official duties, with his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, taking charge of them.
Harb, 58, who claims she married Fahd in 1969, said she does not blame him for the legal battle.
"It is his advisers. He is sick. If it was him, he would not go on (to court)," The Times quoted her as saying.
The Times said Harb was born to a Lebanese Christian family, but converted to Islam before marrying Fahd. She has since become a Scientologist, The Times quoted unidentified friends as saying.
In Saudi Arabia, a male-dominated country, the public receives little news about marriages or divorces within the royal family, but the palace often announces the death of a wife.
Fahd is believed to have married four Saudi women. One of them died, he is believed to have divorced two, and he remains married to Princess Jowhara.
- AP