Israeli teen forced to marry Muslim man in Uzbekistan - report

A 17-year-old Israeli girl was forced to marry a local Muslim man in Uzbekistan, Channel 12 reported on Tuesday night.

As per the report, the teenager told Israel Police that under the excuse of a genealogy trip to Uzbekistan, her parents, olim from Uzbekistan who now live in the Shfela, forced her to marry the Muslim man of their acquaintance.

According to her, her parents used physical and mental violence against her and sequestered her in a house to prevent her from escaping. "At some point, I tried to kill myself, but I didn't succeed. I wasn't ready to marry this man," she testified.

"My mother told me that I am this man's property, and I must not resist anything that I must stay with him for life. That I belong to him, and I must not run away."

"They warned me that if I tried to cause problems for the man I am going to marry, he would beat me," the teenager added. 

A fortunate escape 

During her imprisonment in Uzbekistan, the girl somehow managed to contact acquaintances in Israel, who in turn contacted senior officials at the Foreign Ministry. With the help of legal officials, she was rescued from Uzbekistan and landed in Israel about two months ago while her parents remained in the country, the Channel said.

A few days ago, the girl's parents were arrested as soon as they landed in Israel and were interrogated at the Ramle police station. The parents denied the suspicions against them and said that the wedding was held with their daughter's full consent. 

Parents suspected of a variety of charges 

The parents were brought today for an extension of detention at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court. They are suspected of serious crimes of human trafficking, false imprisonment, threats, assaulting a minor, and assisting an illegal marriage, Channel 12 said.

The couple's defense attorneys denied the suspicions against them on their behalf. They asked to release them to house arrest on the grounds that they could not disrupt the investigation since a detailed testimony had already been obtained from their daughter. They added that the parents were interrogated by the Uzbek authorities and were not arrested for this case which was closed on the grounds of false accusation.

According to them, the parents, who have six children, are surprised by their daughter's behavior, for they have three other daughters who married Muslim men.