The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has said it would on Tuesday discuss the case of a 16 year-old girl who was on Sunday sentenced to house arrest and 100 lashes for fornication with a 29 year-old man, confirmed Vice President Ahmed Tholal.
Permanent Magistrate of Raa Atoll Hulhudhuhfaaru, Magistrate Abdul Samad Abdulla, sentenced the girl to eight months under house arrest, and for public flogging once she reaches the age of 18.
Meanwhile the man, who has been identified as Ahmed Rasheed, Finivaage, R. Angolhitheemu, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of sexual assault on a minor.
The sentencing has attracted international media attention and appeared in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper.
President of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Island Council, Mohamed Zubair, told Minivan News today that the crime had occurred approximately two months ago. He said that the matter had been filed in court by the girl’s family.
Zubair said that although the girl was of school-age, she had stopped attending classes months ago.
An official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court, Ali Rashid, spoke in length to Minivan News about the case on Tuesday.
“The girl has been sentenced to eight months house arrest. The charges for an adult who has committed fornication is a year’s house arrest, but since she is a minor, she can only be given two thirds of the regular sentence,” he explained.
Rashid said that the girl had been sentenced for fornication because she had confessed to it. The man, however, had denied the charges.
“The man said he hadn’t committed fornication, but he admitted to having hugged and done certain other things with the girl. This amounts to sexual assault of a minor under the law. That’s why he has got the minimum sentence possible under the relevant law, 10 years in jail,” Rashid explained.
The Magistrate Court confirmed that the man was now being kept in custody by relevant authorities.
The official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court referred Minivan News to Article 25 of the act detailing special actions to be taken in cases of sexual offences against children (Act number: 12/2009).
Article 25 says: “Unless proven otherwise, it cannot be considered that a child between ages 13-18 had given consent to committing a sexual act. And unless proven otherwise, it will be considered that the sexual act was committed without the child’s consent.”
As the case now stands, two contradicting sentences have been given to persons involved in the same case.
While, as per the magistrate court, the man has been convicted of sexual assault, which translates into an act committed without the consent of the girl, the girl herself has been sentenced on the charges of having consensual sex outside of wedlock.
Private lawyer Mohamed Shafaz Wajeeh, agreed with this observation.
“I agree that there is a strong contradiction here. Also, the man has been sentenced under common law. The act he committed is criminalised under the existing laws, those drafted and passed through the parliament. The girl, on the other hand, has been sentenced under Sharia law, which is not specifically written down. There is a discrepancy in how men and women are sentenced. At times females face more difficulty denying charges of fornication. This, I believe is a structural issue which needs to be addressed.”
An official of the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights, said that the ministry would not speak about specific cases.
Refusing to identify herself, she said, “If the girl has been sentenced for a crime, it’s either the court or JJU (Juvenile Justice Unit) that needs to be concerned. We will be concerned once the girl is flogged, but as far as I know, she hasn’t been flogged yet. We do not want to associate ourselves with a case that we are not involved in.”
Minister of Gender, Family and Human Rights, Dhiyana Saeed, was not responding to calls at the time of press.
In November 2011, UN HIgh Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, speaking in parliament, raised concerns about the issue of flogging in the Maldives.
Speaking on the issue, Pillay said, “This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”
Her statements and calls for discussion on the issue were met with outrage from the opposition and religious Adhaalath party, giving rise to protests and demonstrations. The Foreign Ministry itself dismissed the calls for discussion on the issue, stating: “There is nothing to debate about in a matter clearly stated in the religion of Islam. No one can argue with God.”
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Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights is a bloody disgrace. Its a shame that they would say "We will be concerned once the girl is flogged". There is no point in being concerned after the deed has been done. Isnt it their duty to protect against abuse rather than being concerned after the rights of the child has been violated.
I think Judgement shall be based on law not logic. As the parliament has passed the said Act, but they have no knowledge in amending other laws. Those incompetent MPs are appearing on Tv channels, Usfasgandu talking gibberish.
I want see you all blaming the judge as MDP has asked to do so.
Living in prolonged fear of being flogged is devastating mental torture, violates the rights of the child in MANY ways. No human being should live in fear.
Waheed, grow some guts and stand up to the tyrants who, it now so appears, control you!
Was the Waheed of the UN a fake?
Waiting to see who Waheed really is, will genuinely adore it if he stands up for this girl.
this is outrageous locking the guy up for having sex with the girl - it's clearly her fault and she was asking for it. she should be locked up after a 1,000 lashes! it's yet again another disgraceful case of Maldivian Law being the laughing stock of the work. shame on you.
Such a contradiction! The girl get punished for having sex and the guy gets punished for child abuse, because he says he did not have sex with her!!!! Was the judge handing down the sentence in his sane mind? And shame on ministry of gender, family and human rights! Close down the ministry, and save us our public funds, we don't need insitutions like this with people who are paid to just wait and see what happens!!!! This is ridiculous beyond words!!!
i feel sorry for the 16 yr old girl. really do.
..whats more sickening is they'd jail a person for torching a police cycle for 15 yrs instead of teh 10yr serving for this man for sexual assault on a minor.
What? Nobody is getting stoned? Ohhh thats too bad!
So if a person holds a gun to someone's head, the legal system is unable to act until the trigger is pulled!!!! HRCM should be asserting pressure to stop the act of flogging before hand, because you can't take back the pain and damage after the punishment is given. I hope they all sleep soundly in their beds at night knowing that they too are now the harbingers of this evil practice.
If her age is on the clock, she is old enough for the co.....
HRCR is a disgrace, recent gross human rights violation by police and army was neglected by the same organization. HRCM is very afraid of dictator Gayoom, so they will say nothing regarding the matter and brush aside the matter.
Human rights commissioner Azra why don’t you resign, you are useless and a waste of public money.
Welcome to Afghanistan.
Cure is better than prevention, dearies. Hehhehehe.
it means that the maldivian WOMEN are much braver than a maldivian men in telling the truth & accepting the consequences after.hehehe
Don't you get it, HRCM, Her Human rights have already been violated! It is against human rights to live in fear! That she is a child, makes it a violation of MANY human rights!
The right to be free from torture is violated ALREADY because living with the anticipation of being FLOGGED is mental TORTURE! I only wish you guys could understand the psychological impact of living in anticipation of violence! IT is torture, it creates vicious anxiety which can NEVER be cured, and severe anxiety, IF you knew ANYTHING about psychology you would know, is the underlying cause of MOST other mental illness!
The poor, the weak live in fear because they do not have the money to pay gangs to protect them! We do not have the money to pay for bribes to police and judges to protect us! YOU see, we ARE ALL GUILTY of some form of activity which we deserve to be flogged or punished for, but ONLY the powerful and rich in this world have the POWER to escape the fear of punishment! By whipping the poor for crimes THE RICH deserve to be whipped for, the rich are achieving the impact of POWER, the greatest aphrodesiac! They are achieving their sexual gratification at the expense of our degradation and AGONY!
The poor, the weak, are FORCED to live in fear, are forced into mental illness! The poor are deprived of the money needed to give hope, opportunity and a way out of being poor by the corruption, greed, prejudice and wasteful overseas spending of the rich!
The rich PAY to keep the poor POOR so that they can continue getting on a high at the expense of our PAIN!
My sincere belief is that anybody who refuses to stand up for this girl, or for any victim of tyranny, is not only a moral coward, but is committing a masive dishonour to their Creator. In HIs Mercy, the Creator had chosen to conceal your Zinni, he Chose to cover YOU in His MERCY and GRACE even though YOU DESERVED TO HAVRE THE HELL FLOGGED OUT OF YOU for Zina yourself! THAT is your JUST Punishment, you twisted, socio-pathic cowards, flogging, THAT is what MOST of you deserve. MANY of you in the parliament, in the Public, so ungreatful to ALLAH!
When Allah has concealed your sin, I believe that you then have an obligation to Honour that Undeserved Gift of Grace your evil deeds had been hidden by, through extending it to others. I believe You have a moral obligation to stand up for the girl, and fend for her, to repay Allah for his Gift of concealing YOUR SIN! THAT is ONLY FAIR AND JUST< THAT IS EQUITY (ADHALAATH)
As the Prophet (SAW) said, He who SHOWS MERCY to others, ALLAH WILL SHOW MERCY TO THEM, Al-SAWM Qiyamath (THE DAY of JUDGEMENT. )
Of course, you moral cowards do not have the guts to put JUSTICE above your own career and welfare, FEW of you are strong enough! As the great spiritual leaders always tell us, if there are not enough people that place what is JUST, RIGHT, and HUMANE above even their own welfare, if their is not enough sacrifice for what is RIGHT< tyranny will always rule.
Sacrifice is the ontological essence of life, and, if you do not have the capacity for it, you end up losing LIFE itself! Justice and JANNAH is realized through DIVINE UNION with sacrifice, EMBRACE SACRIFICE as your deepest LOVE, MARRY SACRIFICE and you will bear the fruit of JANNAH for youself and your loved ONES!
It is only pure LOVE which can make a person strong enough for sacrifice, the POWER OF LOVE is the greatest force in the world! EMBRACE IT!
It is only fair and NATURAL (and therefore part of natural LAW) that if the rich and powerful had their Haraam activities concealed, that that same MERCY be extended to the poor, the oppressed, the weak, the sixteen year old girl who does not even have the mental maturity to understand what she has done! THAT would be equity only! SOCIAL JUSTICE!
NATURAL LAW is always above positive LAW, and those who deny this, or are too afraid to resist positive law, deny it because they are small hearted, cowardly and SELFISH!
Waheed, politicians, public, you may lose your reputation, your career, your respect and safety for standing up for what is EQUITABLE, but I would rather lose that than lose my whole soul in JAHANNUM!
Nobody in this country can protest against God's law. but Sharia law is not applied for a wide range of crimes including theft. So one wonders why some people are so fond of lashes and not chopping off hands!
i don't know about sharia law, i'm muslim, but i don't think in this day and age anybody can be unbias or uncorrupt, i don't want corrupted judge or so called ulama to give verdict, those Prophet Muhammad s.a.w days were long gone when the people have good intention, pure in heart, but if you look at todays ulama, it's more about killing instead of da'wah, where is her right to repentance, and it's clearly said that she's a minor, why are they flogging a child, she should get counseling, this is an abomination, different court for the same crime...i'm not maldivian but i would gladly stand up for the girl even if i have to shield her with my body during the lashing...
With such thinking we all know where you'll end up in the Hereafter. Its got 4 letters.
Embrace Islam !!!!! That is Waheed,s way.
Has Waheed commented as yet?
16 year-old girls are no children anymore. They are responsible for their actions.
By giving away her maidenhood she committed a crime she never ever can atone for. Considering her crime a eight months house arrest and only 100 lashes are ridiculous.
The girl should have been sentenced to 10 years in jail, not the man. She should get publicly flogged 100 lashes each month while serving her prison term. So she would get a total of 12,000 lashes, but even this would be far too lenient for her!
I don't know what the man is punished for. She asked for it, so she is the one to blame, not him.
And I really don't know why the flogging is not administered until she turns 18. If she's old enough to commit a crime like this she's also old enough to receive a punishment which fits this crime.
16-year old girls are definitley old enough to get punished with floggings.
Hail Idi Amin! The ignorant rabble who preach against God would do well to listen to your words of wisdom.
Though if I may (with respect) slightly amend your admirable position and suggest that the man must be punished as well (though I would never embrace the radical feminist notion that our harlots aren't 'asking for it', and certainly she must be held accountable for her disregard of modesty).
Regardless, it is only a very few MalDeviants that do not merit immediate garrotting.
absolute disgrace to maldives if the girl gets lashed sharia or not this is pure evil.Evil minded creeps who propagate and implement such cruel inhumane safist/wahabi laws,THE problem with islam many follow what radical imams/clerics in the mideast says cultural patterns of classical seventh century arabia,rather than the essence of the quran,belief in god,tolerance and discipline,rather than calling for political power through enforcement of rules and law devised by whom,quran does not sanction for people to make out punishment for any crimes ,mischief committed nor does it authorize anyone to make punishment in god name.ARE muslims guided to receive the message of islam from clerics or through the understanding of the quran