Maldives girl to get 100 lashes for pre-marital sex
By Olivia LangBBC
News Rights groups have urged the government to abolish the punishment
.
A 15-year-old rape victim has been sentenced to 100 lashes for engaging in premarital sex, court officials
said.
The charges against the girl were brought against her last year after police
investigated accusations that her stepfather had raped her and killed their
baby. He is still to face trial.
Prosecutors said her conviction did not relate to the rape case.
Amnesty International condemned the punishment as "cruel, degrading and inhumane".
The government said it did not agree with the punishment and that it would look into
changing the law.
Baby death
Zaima Nasheed, a spokesperson for the juvenile court, said the girl was also ordered
to remain under house arrest at a children's home for eight months.
She defended the punishment, saying the girl had willingly committed an act outside
of the law.
Officials said she would receive the punishment when she turns 18, unless she requested it
earlier.
The case was sent for prosecution after police were called to investigate a dead
baby buried on the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, in the north of the
country.
Her stepfather was accused of raping her and impregnating her before killing the
baby. The girl's mother also faces charges for failing to report the abuse to
the authorities.
The legal system of the Maldives, an Islamic archipelago with a population of some
400,000, has elements of Islamic law (Sharia) as well as English common law.
Ahmed Faiz, a researcher with Amnesty International, said flogging was "cruel,
degrading and inhumane" and urged the authorities to abolish it.
"We are very surprised that the government is not doing anything to stop this
punishment - to remove it altogether from the statute books."
"This is not the only case. It is happening frequently - only last month there was
another girl who was sexually abused and sentenced to lashes."
He said he did not know when the punishment was last carried out as people were not
willing to discuss it openly.
By Olivia LangBBC
News Rights groups have urged the government to abolish the punishment
.
A 15-year-old rape victim has been sentenced to 100 lashes for engaging in premarital sex, court officials
said.
The charges against the girl were brought against her last year after police
investigated accusations that her stepfather had raped her and killed their
baby. He is still to face trial.
Prosecutors said her conviction did not relate to the rape case.
Amnesty International condemned the punishment as "cruel, degrading and inhumane".
The government said it did not agree with the punishment and that it would look into
changing the law.
Baby death
Zaima Nasheed, a spokesperson for the juvenile court, said the girl was also ordered
to remain under house arrest at a children's home for eight months.
She defended the punishment, saying the girl had willingly committed an act outside
of the law.
Officials said she would receive the punishment when she turns 18, unless she requested it
earlier.
The case was sent for prosecution after police were called to investigate a dead
baby buried on the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, in the north of the
country.
Her stepfather was accused of raping her and impregnating her before killing the
baby. The girl's mother also faces charges for failing to report the abuse to
the authorities.
The legal system of the Maldives, an Islamic archipelago with a population of some
400,000, has elements of Islamic law (Sharia) as well as English common law.
Ahmed Faiz, a researcher with Amnesty International, said flogging was "cruel,
degrading and inhumane" and urged the authorities to abolish it.
"We are very surprised that the government is not doing anything to stop this
punishment - to remove it altogether from the statute books."
"This is not the only case. It is happening frequently - only last month there was
another girl who was sexually abused and sentenced to lashes."
He said he did not know when the punishment was last carried out as people were not
willing to discuss it openly.
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