MADRID, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The Spanish government is angry over an appeal court's decision to release a Muslim cleric jailed for teaching how to beat a woman without leaving marks.
Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega lashed out at the Barcelona court's decision to free Kamal Mostafa, the EFE news agency reported Wednesday.
A lower court had sentenced Egyptian-born Mostafa to 15 months in prison for writing the how-to book. But the appeals court agreed with Mustafa's lawyer that keeping the imam in prison would not help his reintegration into society.
Pointing to the role of Spain's parliament in what she called a "social rebellion" against domestic violence, the deputy premier said the Barcelona court's decision was not "the best way, the best example."
In October, the lower house of the legislature unanimously passed a bill against gender-based violence designed to fight the abuse of women. If the measure is enacted, threats and harassment by men against current or past female partners would become criminal offenses.
