A Northampton imam who admitted to forcing two minors to get married has avoided immediate prison time, despite a law banning marriages under the age of 18 coming into force months earlier.
Ashraf Osmani, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing a child to enter into a marriage after forcefully conducting an Islamic Nikah ceremony for two 16-year-olds at Northampton’s Central Mosque in November 2023. The ceremony took place nine months after new legislation outlawed child marriage in England and Wales, reports GB News.
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act, which came into effect in February 2023, removed the previous exemption that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent.
Northampton Crown Court heard that Osmani claimed he was unaware the law had changed. Mr Justice Akhlaq Choudhury rejected that explanation, telling the court Osmani “ought to have known that the law had changed” and describing his conduct as negligent.
“You were entirely in charge of the marriage process at the mosque and ignorance of the law is no defence,” the judge said, adding that people in the community trusted him for guidance.
Prosecutor Jennifer Newcomb told the court that the girl’s foster parents only learned of the marriage after finding a certificate in her bedroom. Osmani later admitted in a voluntary police interview that he knew the girl was in care and that her foster parents were unhappy with the relationship.
Newcomb said Osmani believed he was helping the teenagers avoid committing sin, stating that he viewed the ceremony as a way for them to have marital relations acceptable under Islamic teaching.
“It was incumbent on him to follow the law,” she said, adding that child marriage is illegal regardless of circumstances and undermines protections for minors.
Defence lawyer James Gray argued the children had suffered no harm and described Osmani as a man who had spent his life encouraging others to live decent lives. The judge sentenced Osmani to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, calling the penalty a deterrent to others.
Ashraf Osmani, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing a child to enter into a marriage after forcefully conducting an Islamic Nikah ceremony for two 16-year-olds at Northampton’s Central Mosque in November 2023. The ceremony took place nine months after new legislation outlawed child marriage in England and Wales, reports GB News.
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act, which came into effect in February 2023, removed the previous exemption that allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent.
Northampton Crown Court heard that Osmani claimed he was unaware the law had changed. Mr Justice Akhlaq Choudhury rejected that explanation, telling the court Osmani “ought to have known that the law had changed” and describing his conduct as negligent.
“You were entirely in charge of the marriage process at the mosque and ignorance of the law is no defence,” the judge said, adding that people in the community trusted him for guidance.
Prosecutor Jennifer Newcomb told the court that the girl’s foster parents only learned of the marriage after finding a certificate in her bedroom. Osmani later admitted in a voluntary police interview that he knew the girl was in care and that her foster parents were unhappy with the relationship.
Newcomb said Osmani believed he was helping the teenagers avoid committing sin, stating that he viewed the ceremony as a way for them to have marital relations acceptable under Islamic teaching.
“It was incumbent on him to follow the law,” she said, adding that child marriage is illegal regardless of circumstances and undermines protections for minors.
Defence lawyer James Gray argued the children had suffered no harm and described Osmani as a man who had spent his life encouraging others to live decent lives. The judge sentenced Osmani to 15 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, calling the penalty a deterrent to others.
