British mother jailed for a month in Bahrain 'after husband accused her of adultery'

A British mother was jailed in Bahrain for a month and is still prohibited leaving the country after her husband accused her of adultery, her family has claimed.

Hannah James, from Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, was allegedly beaten by her husband before she was arrested, he family added.

The James family say that she was accused of having an affair – a criminal act under strict Sharia law in the Island nation, which sits 30 miles off Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.

The family claim the 26-year-old was then imprisoned, eating just rice and water three times a week.

Her husband, Jassim Alhaddar who she met while working in Bahrain, is accused by the family of being physically abusive and have uploaded images of the abuse to social media.

They allege that Alhaddar, with whom she has a son, also burned her passport forcing her to stay.

A JustGiving page set up by her mother Shelley in order to pay to for her flight home after she was released read: "As you all may know that my daughter Hannah James moved to Bahrain last year and married Jassim Alhaddar, the father of her son.

"Things became very difficult for her as she was suffering from domestic violence by the hands of Jassim Alhaddar, this became worse day by day.

"He made it impossible for her to leave as he burnt her passport. He then went to the police and accused her of having an affair so she is and has been in Bahrain prison for one month now and is looking at a sentence between 1-5 years on the grounds of adultery.

"I have been allocated a consul through the British embassy, who has been no help at all and unfortunately they have not been given permission to visit Hannah to check on her welfare."

Alhaddar, when speaking to the Mirror, acknowledged that he had caused the bruises, but claimed he only hit his wife in self-defence and the marks on her body only appeared because of the colour of her skin. He also denied burning her passport saying James had inadvertently destroyed it herself.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson told The Independent: "We are providing support to a British woman following her arrest in Bahrain. We remain in contact with both her family and with the Bahraini authorities."