Baby dies after home circumcision

Second case in two months

ANSA) - Bari, July 22 - A two-month old boy died Tuesday after a circumcision carried out at the home of his Nigerian-born parents.

The baby was rushed to a Bari hospital after the rudimentary operation went wrong but died of a haemorrhage, police said.

Judicial sources said judges were weighing whether to place the boy's 24-year-old mother under investigation for manslaughter - along with the unidentified 'surgeon' when he is caught.

It was the second such case in the last two months.

Commenting on the case, Fabio Ferri of Rome's Bambino Gesu' Hospital said circumcisions were even ''risky'' in hospital because of the high amount of blood in the penis.

''(The operation) should always be performed by experienced doctors in a hospital,'' he said.

Souad Sbai of the Association of Moroccan Women in Italy said all Islamic boys in Italy were circumcised, with ''many'' having the operation at home and only a few going to the doctor.

Sbai added that many girls were still being taken back to their countries of origin to be infibulated despite the practice being banned in Italy since 2006.

''The situation has decidedly changed for the better but we need more money for awareness programmes and to support infibulated women,'' she said.

photo: Bari's Policlinico Hospital