A female Muslim lay judge involved in an infamous court case that controversially used Sharia law principles has been convicted of gross fraud over false employment reports.
Ebtisam Aldebe, a former politician in the Swedish Centre Party, was convicted of fraud after filing employment reports and compensation claims for a total just over 150,000 Swedish Krona/SEK (£11,945/$15,335) on 138 separate occasions, Mitt I reports.
As part of her sentencing, she is expected to pay 150,000 SEK to the Solna District court along with a further 6,000 in daily fines.
“It is obvious that the purpose of her actions has been to hide the fact that she did not have the income loss for which she claimed compensation,” the court said in its judgement.
Aldebe denied the crime, saying: “I’m innocent, absolutely.” The Muslim lay judge will be able to appeal the judgement up until the 5th of November.
The former Centre Party politician became a controversial figure last year after she, along with another lay judge, ruled that a Muslim man accused of beating his wife was innocent because he came from a better family than his spouse.
The judges also questioned why the woman had gone to the Swedish police first to resolve the matter, rather than to members of the Muslim community.
Former president of the Swedish Bar Association Bengt Ivarsson slammed the ruling at the time, saying: “This is one of the most prejudiced and strange judgements I have read. Not completely unexpectedly dictated by two lay judges. Still, no one in charge wants to do something about the lay judge system.”
Sharia courts do not currently exist in Sweden but do in other countries like the UK where journalist David Jones revealed last year that battered housewives often pay off Islamic clerics to allow them to divorce their abusive husbands.