Manohara Odelia Pinot (born Manohara Odelia Manz; 28 February 1992) is an Indonesian model. She once held dual Indonesian and American citizenship. She married Malaysian Kelantanese prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra on 26 August 2008.
Personal life
Her mother, Daisy, was previously married to Edy, an Indonesian, followed by American George Manz, who is the biological father of Manohara. The marriage broke up in 1994 and Daisy later married Juergen Reiner Noack-Pinot, a German citizen, whose surname Manohara adopted.
Daisy fled France in 2007 with Manohara and another daughter Dewi after her adopted daughter, Saliha, made a police report against Daisy and Pinot alleging sexual harassment and physical abuse. Daisy was jailed 18 months in absentia while Pinot got four months. She is still a wanted women in France for "submitting a vulnerable and dependent person to undignified working conditions and assault since 1998".
Manohara gained widespread attention from the Indonesian media in mid April 2009 when her mother, Daisy Fajarina, alleged that Tengku Fakhry, Malaysian Kelantanese prince and Manohara's husband, abducted Manohara.
Manohara met Tengku Fakhry in December 2006 at a dinner held by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia at time, Najib Razak. Despite some problems such as the absence of wali nikah (legal witness) and no legal letter from the Indonesian Embassy, Tengku Fakhry married 16-year-old Manohara in Malaysia on 26 August 2008.
During her stay in Kelantan, Manohara was said to have endured physical and mental abuse from her husband. As a result, she surreptitiously returned to Indonesia via Singapore. Tengku's attempts to woo her back were unsuccessful. He purchased a car for Manohara as a birthday gift in February 2009, and also invited Manohara, her mother and her half-sister on an umrah pilgrimage to Mecca. On 9 March 2009 after the pilgrimage to Mecca, Manohara's mother and Dewi Sri Asih (Manohara's half-sister) were left at an airport in Mecca. Daisy pleaded with the Indonesian government and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for help to get her abducted daughter back.
The issue gained greater attention when Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak dodged questions about the alleged abduction of Manohara by the Malaysian prince as he met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on 23 April 2009. The mother of the missing model held a press conference at the National Commission on Violence Against Women in Jakarta. She complained that Malaysian authorities had stopped her going to Malaysia to check on her daughter's condition. The circumstances have been compared to the case of Altantuya Shaariibu. The Indonesian government demanded the Malaysian government explain why an Indonesian woman was denied entry to see her daughter amid claims of abuse committed by her husband of Malaysian royalty.
On Sunday, 31 May 2009 Manohara escaped Kelantan Sultan's authority in Singapore and returned to Indonesia with her mother. Manohara and Kelantan royal family were in Singapore to accompany Sultan of Kelantan as he sought medical treatment there. Daisy Fajarina was in Singapore to meet her daughter, and Manohara called her to tell her the name of hotel where she was staying. When Manohara tried to escape the hotel, Kelantan bodyguards attempted to stop her on the 3rd floor where the Sultan was staying. With assistance from the US Embassy, Manohara reached Changi Airport and finally succeeded in returning to Indonesia with her mother. At a TV press conference on 31 May 2009, Manohara confirmed her mother's allegations that her husband, Tengku Fakhry, had abused her both emotionally and physically. Manohara also stated that she would not return to Kelantan, also expressing her willingness to file for divorce from Tengku Fakhry.
Women's rights activist Ratna Sarumpaet, who previously offered assistance to Manohara, withdrew the offer, citing Manohara and Daisy's lack of determination in pursuing the case. Lawyer O.C. Kaligis, who offered his legal counsel, also withdrew from representing Manohara, citing difficulty in gathering evidence and cooperation. The case was then taken by lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea.