A British mum was jailed in Bahrain after being accused of cheating when she tried to leave her ‘abusive’ husband.

Hannah James, 26, moved to the Middle East country with her husband Jassim Alhaddar and their four-year-old son.

Last month she was accused of adultery and arrested after trying to flee the country when Jassim allegedly became violent.

Pictures were posted on Facebook that show severe bruising allegedly caused by Jassim, who she met while working in Bahrain.

Adultery is considered a serious crime under Sharia law, but fortunately Hannah’s mother Shelley James confirmed yesterday on Facebook that her daughter has been released.

In a revealing interview, Jassim spoke to Mirror Online and admitted to hitting his wife after finding evidence she was cheating, but claimed it was all in self-defence.

He said: ‘She has white skin so when I go to grab her by her hand there will be bruises for her.

‘Her skin colour, the bruises appear for her really easily.’

The 30-year-old was also accused of burning his wife’s passport, but he told the newspaper he hid it in the oven and it was accidentally destroyed.

In a message on Facebook, Shelley told friends Hannah had been released but she is unable to return to Britain due to ‘legal reasons’.

She wrote yesterday: ‘I Shelley James mother of Hannah James can now confirm that Hannah James has been released from Bahrain jail at 6pm today and is in safe hands and being very well looked after. But she cannot leave Bahrain at the moment due to legal reasons.

‘I will let everyone know when she returns back to the UK. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for their support.’

A petition was set up by friends to demand Hannah’s release, which has racked up thousands of signatures.

Source: metro.co.uk