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CIRCUMCISION

Swedish police arrest amateur circumciser

Swedish police have arrested a woman on suspicion of aggravated assault, after two young boys were circumcized in Eksjö, central Sweden.

Swedish police arrest amateur circumciser

The two boys, both of whom are younger than ten, were circumcised on Sunday.

“The police received a call on Sunday from someone who had heard the boys screaming,” local police spokesman Göran Gunnarsson told the TT news agency.

The police encountered a 36-year-old woman, believed to be related to the boys, at the scene. She has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault, as it is illegal to perform a circumcision without the procedure being supervised by a medical professional.

In 2001, the Swedish parliament passed a law to protect boys against being circumcised without a professional present. The legislation was designed to safeguard them against discomfort, pain, as well as help prevent potential infection.

The prosecutor assigned to the case in Eksjö told Sveriges Radio (SR) that the boys were doing well despite the circumstances.

The bulk of male circumcisions in Sweden take place withing the Jewish and Muslim populations, with the practice being extremely rare in the wider population. According to a September 2012 report by Sveriges Television (SVT), Swedish health authorities estimate that around 3,000 male circumcisions take place in the country each year.

“You’ve got to be practical. We can’t say ‘You can’t circumcise your children because we don’t do that here in Sweden’, because it will happen anyway,” Gothenburg paediatrician Tomas Arvidsson told SR in 2006.

“Which means we have to perform circumcision, and the least we can do is to have certified personnel to take care of the operation.”

TT/The Local/at

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FOOTBALL

Bayern Munich footballer under investigation for assault

Bayern Munich and former German national team football star Jerome Boateng, 31, has been charged with assault after allegedly attacking his former partner, German prosecutors confirmed Tuesday.

Bayern Munich footballer under investigation for assault
Jerome Boateng earlier this year. Photo: DPA

“The Munich prosecutor's office has had proceedings open against Jerome Boateng for dangerous assault since autumn 2018.

Following extensive investigations, charges were brought on February 11th, 2019,” chief prosecutor Anne Leiding told AFP-subsidiary SID, confirming reports in German media outlets Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and WDR.

Leiding added that the court was yet to open the case, but had accepted an accessory prosecution from the alleged victim, named only as 'S.'.

According to the SZ and WDR reports, 'S.' is Boateng's former partner of 10 years and the mother of two of his three children.

Prosecutors also confirmed that Boateng was the subject of a separate police investigation into assault.

Former Germany central defender Boateng is one of the country's most successful players, having won the World Cup with Germany in 2014 and the Champions League with Bayern in 2013.

His career has declined in recent months, after he was dropped from the national squad earlier this year.

READ ALSO: Löw Blow: Why Müller, Hummels and Boateng deserved the axe

Boateng's relationship with his club has also suffered after he slipped down the defensive pecking order at German league champions Bayern.

In May, club president Uli Hoeness advised the 31-year-old to “find a new club”, but a mooted transfer to Italian giants Juventus fell through at the last minute on the final day of the European transfer window on Monday

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