She had testified to her ordeal through the voice of a loved one. Aged around twenty, this woman living in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) had decided to leave her family who seemed to want to impose a forced marriage on her with a Tunisian. This French family of Tunisian origin was tried on Wednesday and Thursday before the Nantes criminal court for having kidnapped and kidnapped the young woman, the youngest member of the family.
A BTS student, the young woman was kidnapped by her own family one day in May 2021 while she was not far from her boyfriend’s apartment. His brother’s car was identified and the victim was found in Saint-Herblain, locked in a room in the family home. Before that, she had decided to emancipate herself several times, notably during an Erasmus stay in the Netherlands. When she returned, her family wanted to impose a virginity test on her, which she refused. On several occasions, her brothers had tried to kidnap her while she was taking her final exams.
The family wanted to “protect” her
Thursday, the young woman was not present at the hearing, not wishing to see her family again, reports West France. On the stand, her 60-year-old mother and four of her children denied the facts, explaining that they wanted to “protect” the young woman. They were convicted of kidnapping, false imprisonment and arbitrary detention.
Four defendants received eighteen months in prison, of which fourteen months were suspended, specifies the daily. The fifth defendant received one year in prison, including eight months suspended.