From Family Harm to Online Deception and Blackmail

A young woman with a disability had long experienced harsh and harmful treatment from her father. She tried conversation, gentle persuasion and other ways of improving the relationship, but felt that nothing changed. Eventually she turned to the internet in search of a rapid answer to her difficulties.

She found an advertisement claiming that supernatural methods could restore affection. She asked whether the advertiser could change a father’s treatment of his daughter. He demanded OMR 500 in advance, accompanying the request with oaths and promises that her father would become loving and accommodating.

Desperate for a different life, she began to believe the outcome he described. She explained her health and mobility limitations. He continued to insist on payment first, supporting his demands with invented stories of success and assurances of a happier future.

Raising the money was difficult for someone with limited mobility and no independent source of income. People who understood her circumstances declined to lend, often expressing sympathy instead. Feeling trapped, she used photographs that were not her own to present a different identity online and developed a lengthy correspondence with a young man.

After an emotional relationship had developed, she asked him for a loan. He transferred the amount she needed, and she paid the advertiser. Months passed without any improvement in her father’s behaviour. Whenever she asked about the promised result, the advertiser repeated his assurances. She continued to hope and was also afraid of provoking his anger or retaliation.

The lender later demanded repayment. When she asked for more time, he threatened to expose her. He demanded the money or private images and other personal concessions, including a meeting. She eventually disclosed her true identity, her health circumstances and the entire sequence of events, but the pressure did not stop.

Given a very short deadline, she felt profound despair and could see no clear way out. According to the account published in October 2021, the immediate crisis with the young man was ultimately resolved following intervention by a legal professional.

The experience shows how harms can accumulate: abuse within the family, deception exploiting an urgent wish for relief, and blackmail through a private relationship. Each stage made it harder for her to seek trustworthy help and easier for someone else to use fear against her.

The value of legal assistance in such circumstances is to restore access to lawful ways of dealing with the problem. A person facing pressure should not have to remain controlled by threats or promises that cannot be trusted.

By Mohammed bin Saeed bin Ahmed Al-Maamari, Advocate and Legal Consultant.

Al-Maamari & Al-Saidi Law Firm | +968 90605000 | info@mflegal.net | mohd@mflegal.net