By VoxNews
He deprived his wife of all freedom by confining her to the house: she was not allowed to go out with her friends or wear Western clothes, and when she had guests she was not allowed to sit at the table with the others but had to be in a separate room to eat. She couldn’t even decide what to watch on TV or what to cook for dinner. When she tried to rebel, her husband beat and insulted her. Now the man, a 40-year-old Moroccan imam who is very attached to his country’s ancient customs, has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison in Italy. For the judges, his behavior constitutes a criminal offense of family abuse.
Prosecutor Barbara Badellino had demanded a sentence of two years: In the indictment, she had emphasized that it was a “case in which the cultural and religious aspect played a predominant role”. We are confronted with behaviors that may seem normal in Arab culture but not in our country. In short, according to the judge, it is “conduct relevant under criminal law”. The Moroccan, who is being defended by lawyer Federico Schettini, has been accused of abusing his wife and children, particularly the eldest child, aged 11, who is said to have been beaten several times. The victim, now 47, was 30 when her family “arranged” her marriage to the accused: the marriage took place in Morocco in 2005, then the couple moved to Italy. In the courtroom, the woman described the deprivation, humiliation, and insults she suffered during her marriage.
Then the prosecutor pointed out that “she had no say, was given no autonomy, and was forced to wear bulky clothes and a veil. Her husband always got his way and beat her with slaps and kicks.” During the trial, several witnesses, mostly friends of the accused, tried to downplay the situation by describing the archaic customs of their country.
Source: VoxNews