The father of a 12-year-old Romanian girl sold her into marriage to the ‘bride’s’ family, because it was a normal practice for Romanian Gypsies, he claimed.
She was taken to Romania for the marriage in September 2021, where she underwent the handkerchief test ‘ensure that she was a virgin.’
Both families returned to Spain and celebrated the marriage with a fiesta, video images of which were uploaded to social media, which is where the Policía Nacional became aware of it. From then on, she shared a room with her ‘husband’ in her in-laws’ house in Madrid.
Amazingly, the legal age for marriage in Spain up to 2015 was only 14-years of age but from then on it was increased to 16 years of age to bring it into line with the the majority of other European countries.
Her father claims that they never spoke of money and that this kind of marital arrangement was ‘completely normal’ amongst Gypsy families in Romania. In fact, if he had known that it was illegal in Spain, he would never have consented to it, he claims. “Nobody forced her into marriage,” he said.
The in-laws, who also stand accused of people trafficking, said that their son (also a minor) and the girl met online and became friends. However, the girl when questioned by herself made mention of having been sold to her husband’s family, which she had accepted because she loved him.
She had never been to school before the marriage and has not been since, either. Her parents-in-law retained her passport and Birth Certificate. She was seldom allowed out of the house unless she was accompanied by her ‘husband’ or the in-laws. Furthermore, she was not allowed to have a mobile phone.
(News: Madrid)