Europe News
Controversy in Spain over mother sentenced to 17 years (Roundup)
Apr 15, 2009, 12:36 GMT
Madrid - Controversy has arisen in Spain over a 17-year prison sentence handed to a Mauritanian immigrant for pressuring her daughter into marrying a 26 years older man and into having sex with him, press reports said Wednesday.
Selamha Mint Mohammed, now 17, reported her parents to police over the marriage, which took place in Mauritania when she was 14 years old.
She said she was forced to have sex with her husband after the wedding and when he visited her in the southern Spanish town of Puerto Real several months later.
A court in Cadiz sentenced the girl's mother to 17 years in prison for sexual aggression, coercion and threats. The husband was handed 13 years and 6 months for sexual aggression, and the father one-and-half years for threats.
Defence lawyers have appealed the sentence. The court on Wednesday rejected a request by prosecutors for the parents to be already jailed.
The case has sparked protests among the Mauritanian community in Spain and in the north-west African country itself, where critics call on Spain to respect Mauritanian traditions.
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Europe
- 1. Pope in Easter message calls for peace and religious tolerance
- 2. Magnificent Messi leads Barcelona to ninth straight win
- 3. Pope leads Easter vigil, calls for "true enlightenment"
- 4. Barcelona increase pressure on Real with romp in Zaragoza
- 5. Pope Benedict XVI leads Easter Vigil
Older Talkback
