East Jerusalem resident charged with beating wife who refused to wear veil

Nidal Arafeh, 28, beat his 22-year-old wife after an argument broke out between the newlyweds over his demands that she cover her head.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Arab woman 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Arab woman 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
A newly married Arab resident of east Jerusalem was indicted Sunday for assaulting his young wife after she refused to cover her head with a veil, court documents showed. Nidal Arafeh, 28, beat his 22-year-old wife after an argument broke out between the newlyweds over his demands that she cover her head, according to the indictment filed in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court. The charge sheet said that in early October, Arafeh assaulted her, pulled her hair and locked her in one of the rooms of the apartment. He then put a gun, which he was holding without a license, to his wife's head and warned her that if she did not go to her mother's house, he would kill her, the indictment stated. Finally, not making do with threats, he flung her into the door of the apartment, injuring her, the charge sheet said. The couple, who had been married in July, were living in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. In a second assault at the end of October, Arafeh put out two cigarettes on his wife's chest, the indictment stated. He was charged with two counts of assaulting his wife, as well as making threats and holding a gun without a license. Arafeh had a criminal record, including two criminal convictions in 2006 and 2007 for armed robbery and illegally carrying a knife. He was previously sentenced to 22 months and 2 months in jail, respectively. Citing the severity of his crimes, as well as his criminal record, the deputy Jerusalem district attorney asked the court to remand Arafeh for the duration of his trial. He is currently in detention, while his wife - whose name was not mentioned in the indictment except by abbreviation - is staying at her mother's house. His wife is listed on the charge sheet as one of the people who will testify in the case. "We do not know anything except that he is in jail," Arafeh's father, Mustafa, said Sunday. He added that his son's wife had told her mother she was being beaten for months. "Why didn't she complain four months ago?" he asked. He said he did not know if the couple would divorce.