Cleric charged with conducting marriage ceremony for two children in Northampton

A Northampton religious leader has today (Wednesday, September 3) been charged under forced marriage legislation with illegally allowing two children to marry each other.

Ashraf Osmani, aged 52, of Abington Avenue, Northampton, will appear in court charged under Section 121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, as amended by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022.

It is alleged Osmani conducted a Nikah marriage ceremony in November 2023, involving two 16-year-old children at the Central Mosque Northampton, where he is the serving Imam, the Mosque’s most senior Muslim cleric.

Osmani, a Bangladesh-born British national, will appear before Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday, September 11.