The commonwealth’s conviction rate for forced marriage offences remains at zero after a Melbourne man who married a 14-year-old girl pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Mohammad Shakir, 34, was originally charged with being a party to a forced marriage and sexually penetrating a child under the age of 16.
The two charges were yesterday withdrawn and Shakir pleaded guilty to going through with a form or ceremony of marriage with a person not of marriageable age, an offence under the Marriage Act. The new charge carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
The marriage is alleged to have occurred in Noble Park, in Melbourne’s southeast, in September last year.
Shakir has been in custody since October and appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court. He smiled as he entered the courtroom and received a wave from his victim, who was also present in the court.
When asked how he was pleading, Shakir said through the assistance of a Burmese interpreter that he was not very clear on the charges.
Shakir’s case was stood down so his lawyer could answer his questions before he entered his guilty plea to the new charge.
The traditional Islamic ceremony was allegedly carried out by prominent cleric Ibrahim Omerdic who is also facing charges relating to forced marriage.
Mr Omerdic is scheduled to appear before the Magistrates Court next month for a contested hearing on his case. He is the former imam of the Bosnian mosque in Noble Park and was stood down when he was arrested in November. He was subsequently sacked following an investigation by the Bosnian Islamic Society management committee. His marriage celebrant licence was also revoked.
Shakir will face a plea hearing in September.
The Australian Federal Police has received more than 100 referrals of allegations of forced marriage since it was criminalised in March 2013.
In 2014, a 12-year-old girl from NSW’s Hunter Valley was married to a Lebanese university student in a Muslim ceremony.
The “husband” pleaded guilty to persistent sexual abuse of a child while the girl’s father was found guilty of procuring a child aged under 14 for unlawful sexual activity and being an accessory before the fact to a serious indictable offence. The Iranian cleric who married the couple pleaded guilty to the charge of solemnisation of a marriage by an unauthorised person.
The Islamic Council of Victoria issued a statement regarding child marriage following the first court appearance of Shakir and Mr Omerdic, condemning forced marriage.
“As Australian Muslims, we are required to abide by the laws of our country,” it said.
“It is true that marriage at a younger age is permitted in other countries and cultures, but this is not a justification for marriage below the legal age or child marriages here in Australia.”
The ICV said while it did not believe forced or child marriages were a widespread practice in Australia, one instance was one too many. “The ICV unequivocally calls for the marriage laws of Australia to be strictly adhered to by all members of the Muslim community,” it said.