A five-month-old baby died in the
night between Friday and Saturday in Bologna's Sant'Orsola
hospital followed a botched circumcision by his parents of
Ghanaian origin, sources said.
The child was already in a critical condition when he arrived
in hospital after being taken there from Scandiano, in the
province of Reggio Emilia.
The child's mother and father are under investigation for
culpable homicide.
Another small child died in December due to an illegal
circumcision performed at Monterotondo, near Rome.
It is estimated that 4,000-5,000 foreign children undergo
circumcisions in Italy every year and around 35% are carried out
illegally.
Yassine Lafram, the head of Bologna's Islamic community, on
Monday condemned the practice of subjecting children to illegal
circumcisions.
"We learn of the terrible news of the death of a five-month
baby following an illegal circumcision with dismay," said
Lafram.
"It's a death that could certainly have been avoided and
pains us deeply.
"We firmly condemn these irresponsible gestures and we hope
that they never happen again".
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