Unlicensed doctor who circumcised nine boys with a soldering gun and left children in so much pain they could barely walk avoids jail term in Sweden
- The unlicensed doctor claimed he trained in medicine for nine months in Syria
- He circumcised nine boys in the Swedish cities of Söderhamn and Gävle
- Other doctors said procedures could not have been done by a qualified surgeon
- The man was given a suspended prison sentence, community service and fined
An unlicensed doctor who circumcised nine boys with a soldering gun and left children in so much pain they could barely walk has avoided jail time in Sweden.
The man in his 30s, who claimed he trained as a doctor in Syria, was convicted of assault, causing bodily harm and violating the law on circumcision of boys.
He performed the circumcisions between April and May 2018 in the Swedish cities of Söderhamn and Gävle and has been handed a suspended sentence, according to national broadcaster SVT.
An unlicensed ‘doctor’ in Sweden has been given a suspended sentence after he performed circumcisions on nine boys with a soldering gun (pictured, file photo)
The circumcisions were performed at the request of the boys’ guardians with a non-medical soldering gun, and was paid approximately SEK 2,000 ($175) for each procedure, according to Sputnik News.
Despite not having a medial license in Sweden, the man insisted that he had received nine months of medical training in Syria and that was therefore authorised to perform the surgery.
Speaking earlier in the year, he said that he used a soldering gun as a way ‘to kill off the bacteria with heat’, and considered himself an expert in circumcisions.
However, doctors who treated the children after the procedures emphasised their disbelief that they could have been carried out by a qualified surgeon.
Medical journals from the cases describe how a couple of the victims were in so much pain after the botched circumcisions that they had difficulty walking.
The ‘doctor’ has been given a suspended sentence, must perform 180 hours of community service and pay SEK 55,000 (£4,800) in damages.
The city of Söderhamn in Sweden (file photo) where the fake doctor carried out some of hte procedures on the young boys. He claimed he trained in Syria as a doctor and was therefore allowed to carry out the procedures
He was also acquitted of four counts of assault and five counts of causing bodily harm.
The reason given for the acquittals was that it was not proven that the inflammation in some of the cases came from the procedures, and that it was not proven that the pain was of such a nature that it should be considered abuse.
Prosecutors had previously demanded two years’ imprisonment for the man.
Gävle in Sweden, the other city where the man carried out the procedures at the request of the boys’ guardians. He was paid approximately SEK 2,000 ($175) for each procedure
Operating on the foreskin of an underage boy without a valid medical reason has been allowed in the country since 2001.
It is practised in many cultures including Judaism, Islam and some Christian branches, and is often seen as a rite of passage in the transition from boyhood to adulthood.
However, there is much debate in Sweden about the practice’s ethicality, with many – including the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education – calling for it to be banned in the country.
Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, has been banned in the country since 1982.