A teenage girl was beaten and had her 2ft long hair shaved off by her Muslim parents for “being in love with a Christian boy.”
The Bosnian girl, 17, was beaten and had her long locks shaved off by her parents, aunt and uncle for having a relationship with a Serbian Christian boy, 20.
The “act of torture” took place on Monday in the eastern city of Besancon, France and left her with bruises and a broken rib according to judicial sources.
Prosecutors said on Friday that the girl’s relatives now face trial in France on charges of violence against a minor for shaving her head due to their relationship.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter: “Shaved and beaten because she ‘loved a Christian’.
“Deeply shocked by this act of torture on this 17-year-old girl. This barbarity calls for the most severe punishment.”
The pair, who lived in the same building, were in a relationship for several months after the girl arrived from Bosnia-Herzegovina with her family two years ago.
Deputy prosecutor Margaret Parietti told AFP: “‘The two families knew each other and [their relationship] was not a problem.
“But when they started talking about marriage, the girl’s parents told her ‘we are Muslims, you cannot marry a Christian.'”
The girl’s parents, aunt, and uncle, of Bosnian Muslim origin, were detained by police an released under judicial control.
But they are banned from contacting the teenager, who has been placed under protection, and they do not know her whereabouts.
Ms. Parietti said: “They will be tried for ‘violence against minors.”
The girl’s family stripped her of her phone and stopped her from contacting her boyfriend before the young lovers fled.
Four days later, they went to the girl’s family home along with the boy’s parents.
The prosecutor said: “The first blow came from the mother. Then there was an outbreak of violence.
“She was taken to a room and beaten. She was shaved, according to her testimony, by her uncle – her father’s brother – while being beaten
The young man left the house to report the incident to police but his parents said they did not dare to intervene, according to prosecutors.
Officers arrived and found the girl had been made to hide in a room by her aunt before she was taken to hospital.
Ms Parietti said she suffered a broken rib and bruises “everywhere” in particular by her ear.