A MUSLIM cleric in Indonesia was questioned on Friday over his marriage to a 12-year-old village girl, police said.But she had the body of an 8-year-old...
The marriage between cleric Pujianto Cahyo Widiyanto, 43, and junior high school student Lutfiana Ulfa in August sparked an outcry from civic groups in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Widiyanto and his supporters say his actions are acceptable under Islam but others say he should abide by state law, which sets 16 as the minimum age for marriage.
'He has been questioned since this morning,' a police officer told AFP from Semarang in Central Java.
Although Indonesian law carries stiff penalties for paedophilia, arranged marriages between older men and girls are not uncommon, especially in poorer rural areas.
Most of the time they receive religious blessings, but - like Widiyanto's marriage - are not legally registered.