Religious leader to appear in court charged with allowing two 16-year-olds to marry at Northampton mosque
A religious leader has been charged and is due to appear in court after being accused of allowing two 16-year-olds to marry at a Northampton mosque.
Ashraf Osmani, of Abington Avenue, Northampton, has today (Wednesday September 3) been charged, under forced marriage legislation, with illegally allowing two children to marry each other, according to Northamptonshire Police.
In a statement released this afternoon, a spokesperson for the police said the 52-year-old has been charged under Section 121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, as amended by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022.
The spokesperson added: “It is alleged Osmani conducted a Nikah marriage ceremony [a traditional Islamic marriage ceremony], involving two 16-year-old children at the Central Mosque Northampton, where he is the serving Imam, the Mosque’s most senior Muslim cleric.
“Osmani, a Bangladesh-born British national, will appear before Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday September 11.”
- This information has been provided by police as forces have been encouraged to disclose the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in certain cases.