Belgium: 13-year old married

Police are investigating a marriage made in the Schaarbeek municipality, a Brussels suburb, between a youth and his 13-year old girlfriend. The young bride claimed she lost her ID (which must be carried by every Belgian above the age of 12). The gave a false birth date so she could get married, without the municipality workers asking any questions.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

Update:

The girl has reported her ID lost a while before, enabling her to get a new ID with the date of birth she had specified. Her family played along.

Schaarbeek is a Brussels suburb with a strong Turkish and Moroccan community. Though the girl's origins are not mentioned news reports do say that even if the marriage is allowed in the girl's homeland, it is still impossible in Belgium for a 13 year old to get married.

The marriage will probably be annulled once the couple is located. The witnesses will also have to account to the police for witnessing such a marriage.

Sources: nu.nl (Dutch), blik op nieuws (Dutch)

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