Spain: Seven accused of setting up a Sharia court, freed

Image via Wikipedia

The victim failed to appear for the third time to identify them. This is an update on this story:

The seven Moroccans charged with having set up a court of Sharia law in Valls (Catalonia) and of having passed a death sentence on a women accused of adultery, have today been released. The committal judge at Tarragona Court was forced to overturn their imprisonment after the woman who had brought the charges failed to appear in court to identify them for the third time, say court sources, cited by the EP agency.

The woman, of Moroccan citizenship, disappeared without trace last November and is thought to have returned to live in Morocco, although the police in that country have not been able to trace her.

(via)

The place where, according to the failed-to-appear victim, the sharia court held session and condemned her

It’s interesting to note that La Vanguardia titles this: “The woman condemned to death by stoning on adultery charged in Valls eludes to appear and declare in Court“.

The process has not ended though: the Judge has declared again the investigation under secrecy and will continue the enquiries. He considers that there are still leads which should be investigated, specially because Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, consider as “probable” the existence of a Sharia Court in Valls and its surroundings.

The defense says that the victim “lives and works in Morocco” and has asked for the process to be ended. The Judge has rejected that till he speaks with the alleged victim.

Photo of the Massia where the court held its session @ El Pais.

Related: Stoning victim dissappeared without trace, 7 Muslims charged over Sharia court get off.