A groom who punched his wife in the head on their wedding day after she beat him to a game at their wedding party has been charged over the attack.
The man, who has not been named, was captured in a viral video hitting his wife after she won a race to unwrap sweets that had been organised by guests at their wedding in the southern region of Surkhandaryo in Uzbekistan on June 6.
The video caused outrage with Saida Mirziyoyeva, daughter of the country’s president, condemning the attack, and prompting police to track the couple down.
Officers say the man has now been charged with ‘hooliganism’ but is facing just 15 days in prison and a fine if found guilty.
A committee in the Uzbek legislature’s upper house said the young man had ‘apologised to the bride and expressed regret at his actions’ at a neighbourhood hearing attended by community elders and relatives of the couple.
‘On the same day, the bride and groom reconciled and now live together,’ the committee said.
Speaking out against the violence, Ms Mirziyoyeva had said: ‘We shouldn’t remain silent about such cases, we should not pretend that they are one-offs.
‘This is why we need education that opens horizons and makes women independent and strong.’
After being struck, footage captured an obviously distraught bride putting her head in her hands before being led off the stage by another woman.
Uzbekistan has a history of arranged marriages, although these are less common today. It is unclear if this was an arranged marriage.
