Rania Al-Baz's husband is refusing to divorce her except through the court, which could take years. "He has completely refused to settle the case out of court and insists that he wants her back for the sake of the children," said Dr. Omar Al-Khouli, lawyer of Rania, the former television broadcaster. The first hearing of the divorce case took place last week, but because the judge did not show up and neither did her husband Muhammad Al-Fallata, the hearing was rescheduled for December. "A case might be delayed for years because of the judge. In the case of Rania, a divorce sentence might be reached after two to five years because of the judge being absent and him trying to conciliate between the disputing parties," Al-Khouli told Arab News.After the no-show of the judge, Al-Khouli and Al-Fallata's lawyer agreed to meet with Al-Fallata to try and settle the case, but they were not successful. Rania has the option of divorcing her husband, called khula in Islam, which requires her to return to him the dowry he gave her (SR15,000), but that is also done through the court. Although when Arab News asked her before whether she was willing to divorce him and return his dowry, she said yes, but at the court she said that she would not compromise on any of her rights.