Tragic end for Jewish woman in custody battle with Saudi prince
French police are investigating the death of a Jewish
mother who fought to get her daughter back from a Saudi prince, amid
speculation by some media over the circumstances.
Candice Cohen Ahnine, 35, fell from her fourth-floor
Paris balcony last week.
French newspapers say she appeared to have been fleeing
from danger, though police have refused to comment until they have spoken to
all witnesses.
She had accused her Saudi ex-partner of imprisoning her
and their daughter.
The Frenchwoman escaped from Saudi Arabia, leaving her
daughter, Haya, behind, and wrote a book about her ordeal, called Give Me Back
My Daughter.
Ms Cohen Ahnine had won a custody battle in the French
courts, and diplomatic arrangements were being made for her to visit
11-year-old Haya, who is still in Saudi Arabia.
Her lawyer, Laurence Tarquiny-Charpentier, ruled out that
her death could be suicide, saying she was very excited about the prospect of
seeing her child again.
Various media reported the death as an accident.
But several newspapers raised the question of foul play,
quoting an unnamed relative, who said: "A few days ago, Candice had told
me she felt threatened."
France's Figaro newspaper said Ms Cohen Ahnine met Prince
Sattam bin Nasser bin Khaled al-Saud in the 1990s, and they had their baby in
2001.
They lived in Paris but reportedly broke up in 2006, when
the prince announced plans to take a second wife.
Ms Cohen Ahnine took her daughter to see the prince in
Riyadh in September 2008.
She said her passport was confiscated and she was
detained in a palace in the city.
Ms Cohen Ahnine said she was able to escape after months
of captivity when a maid left her door open.
She reached the French embassy and was helped back to
France, where she began a long battle to see her daughter again.
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