Tag: rape

Young Indian teacher hospitalised in “very serious condition” after alleged rape

A young Indian teacher working on the island of Dhangethi in Alif Dhaal Atoll has been hospitalised after a group of people broke into her home on Sunday night and allegedly raped her.

The 25 year-old woman is in a “very serious condition” following the attack, said the Island Council President Azim Adam.

“They broke in [to her house] around 2:15am. I came to know about it at 4:00am and I instantly reported it to the police. The girl is now in the atoll hospital in a very serious condition,” Adam said.

A source close to the victim said she was in the hospital’s intensive care unit but was “bleeding uncontrollably.”

“We have put seven pints of blood into her but she is still bleeding. It is a very serious issue. We are planning to send her to India, there is not much more we are able to do here,” the source said, adding that her brother had arrived in the Maldives and was on the island.

The Indian High Commission in the capital Male’ said it had been informed of the incident and had received the woman’s details from the police.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) Spokesperson Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef said specialist teams were investigating the incident. He could not confirm whether any arrests had been made, but said further details would be released to the media at a later stage.

Local media reported that the woman was teaching a private computer course on the island.

Island Council President Adam said the young woman had been working on the island for less than a month, and described her as a “very kind person who was very friendly towards the local islanders”.

Dhangethi is the third largest populated island of Alif Dhaal Atoll, with a population of around 1200 people.

An official from the Indian High Commission noted that a similar case had occurred in 2011 involving an Indian nurse working on an island in the Maldives.

“I told the police that [in 2011] there was a rape case like this whereby a nurse was raped on one of the islands. However in that instance all of the suspects were later acquitted in court,” the official added.

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Suspect surrenders to police over alleged abuse of 13 year-old girl

A 55 year-old male accused of molesting a minor in Male’ this week has surrendered to authorities, police have confirmed.

Police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that the suspect, identified as Saeed Ahmed, was presently being held in custody after handing himself over to officers yesterday evening (December 31, 2012).

According to the Maldives Police Service (MPS), the suspect stands accused of entering a house in the capital where the 13 year-old girl was staying at around 9:30pm before sexually assaulting her on Sunday (December 30).

Haneef confirmed Saeed was presently the only suspect being sought in connection to the alleged sexual assault of a 13 year-old girl.

Police had yesterday published a picture of Saeed in local media to appeal for information from the public on his whereabouts.

The assault was the third suspected case of sexual abuse involving children or young women to have been reported over the last week.

On Saturday (December 29), police announced the arrest of a 33 year-old man on suspicion of raping of a girl below 16 years of age in Vili-Male’.

The man identified as Mohamed Abdushukoor, 33, of Galolhu Red Coral, was accused of forcing the under-aged victim into a house in Vili-Male’ at about 1:00pm while she was out walking with her 14 year-old brother.

Police accused the suspect of keeping the pair in separate rooms as he sexually abused the girl. The incident was reported to the Police Family and Child Protection Unit.

Authorities have also confirmed that a 13 year-old living on Gahdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll was last week sexually assaulted in an abandoned home on the island after being drugged and abducted.

Sub-Inspector Haneef confirmed yesterday that two 16 year-old males and an 18 year-old man had been arrested on December 27 in connection with the alleged rape. However, he could not specify further details on the case as investigations were continuing.

The Maldives Police Service confirmed that the detention period of the three suspects had been extended from three to 15 days.

Assault concerns

According to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against minors, almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused.

The same study claimed that sexual abuse rate of girls in the country was found to be almost twice as high than cases recorded against boys.

One in five Maldivian girls has been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent.  Female minors were particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

A 2007 study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences has previously concluded that one in three Maldivian women aged 15 to 49 experience either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, including during childhood.

In recent years, local authorities and NGOs have released a number of findings highlighting the extent of child abuse and wider sexual assaults within society.

The state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital’s (IGMH’s) Family Protection Unit reported in 2010 that the centre was notified of 42 cases of rape between 2005-2010. Most of these cases were found to involve minors.

According to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, 13 rape cases were reported last year alone, the majority of which most were gang rapes or assaults involving minors.

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Rape suspect arrested in Vili-Male’

Police have arrested a 33 year-old male in connection with the rape of a girl below 16 years of age in Vili-Male’ on Saturday (December 29).

Mohamed Abdushukoor, 33, of Galolhu Red Coral, was taken into custody last night with assistance from the public, the police said.

Abdushukoor reportedly forced the under-aged victim into a house in Vili-Male’ at about 1:00pm yesterday while she was out walking with her 14 year-old brother.

Police accused the suspect of keeping the pair in separate rooms as he sexually abused the girl. The incident was reported to the Police Family and Child Protection Unit late yesterday afternoon.

Police then made a public announcement publishing a photo of Abdushukoor, who it said has a criminal record, appealing for assistance in searching for the suspect.

He was arrested in Vili-Male’ shortly before midnight on Saturday, police said, and expressed gratitude to the public for their help in locating the suspect.

According to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against minors, almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives.

The sexual abuse rate of girls in the country was found to be almost twice as high than for boys at 20 percent, according to the study.

One in five Maldivian girls has been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent.  Female minors were particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

A 2007 study on Women’s Health and Life Experiences meanwhile found that one in three Maldivian women aged 15 to 49 experience either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, including childhood sexual abuse.

In recent years, local authorities and NGOs have released a number of findings highlighting the extent of child abuse and wider sexual assaults within society.

The state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital’s (IGMH’s) Family Protection Unit reported in 2010 that the centre was notified of 42 cases of rape between 2005-2010. Most of these cases were found to involve minors.

According to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, 13 rape cases were reported last year alone, the majority of which most were gang rapes or assaults involving minors.

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Participaton key focus of provocative National Gallery exhibition

Societal challenges in addressing the prevalence of child abuse within the Maldives was the central theme of a one-day contemporary art exhibition held at the National Art Gallery in Male’ on Saturday.

Ismail Asif, who coordinated the exhibition along with a number of fellow local artists, said each installation aimed to focus on fears of how “common” child abuse had become within the Maldives, partly as a result of an unwillingness to discuss and tackle the matter within society.

“[The exhibition] is about trying to break taboos, it really is a challenge to discuss these matters.  The system has so many flaws we wanted to depict; these are flaws within the education system, the judicial system and wider society,” he said.

Despite the difficult subject matter, organisers claimed that after three weeks of work, the exhibition, which ran from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, aimed to encourage participation from members of the public to try and encourage discussion about child abuse.

Asif talked about the exhibition’s wider themes, without trying to play down the provocative nature of the installations.

“We very much wanted to focus on participation, normally when it comes to trying to address child abuse as an issue, people will just have a poster or banners they can look at concerning the problem.  We wanted to try and give more a sense of looking through the eyes of the victims,” he said.

The exhibition itself combined installations involving a sculpture of a female figure holding up a toilet, depicting what Asif claimed was the discrepancy between national perceptions of the  traditional status of local women and their treatment within real life.

Among perhaps the more outré installations on display at the yesterday’s exhibition was a specially-constructed walkway that required members of the public upon entry to pass through a small passageway with artificial hands attached to either side of the exhibit.

Asif said that the exhibit was used to open the event to try and reflect themes concerning harassment of vulnerable young people.

Scale of the problem

In recent years, local authorities and NGOs have released a number of findings trying to detail the extent of child abuse and wider sexual assaults within society.

The state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital’s (IGMH’s) Family Protection Unit reported in 2010 that the centre was notified of 42 cases of rape between 2005-2010. Most of these cases were found to involve minors.

According to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, 13 rape cases were reported last year alone, the majority of which most were gang rapes or assaults involving minors.

Almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives, according to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against minors.

Rates of sexual abuse for girls are almost twice as high than for boys at 20 percent – one in five girls have been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent. Girls are particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

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High Court upholds lower court’s ruling to reinstate officer accused of rape

The High Court has upheld a Civil Court ruling to reinstate Police Lance Corporal Ali Nasheed to active duty, after he was accused of raping a young woman after abducting her in a police car in August 2010.

The High Court ruled there was not enough evidence to prove that Ali Nasheed was guilty of the crime and determined that he could only be relieved of duty if there was enough evidence to prove him guilty.

The state was unable to prove with the police investigation that Ali Nasheed was guilty of the crime, the court stated.

The High Court ruling stated that Ali Nasheed was dismissed by the Police Disciplinary Committee after allegedly violating the Police Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics.

The only evidence submitted to the court against Ali Nasheed was the call log of his cell phone on the night of the incident, and the areas in which the cell phone had been used that night. Those areas were related to the incident, the court was told.

The High Court noted that Nasheed had told the lower court that he was sleeping at the time of the incident and that his brother went out with his cell phone that night, and that he had nothing to do with the call log. Nasheed produced his brother to the court who confessed that he was the one who went out with Nasheed’s mobile phone.

The High Court said that when the Disciplinary Board investigated the case they did not obtain fingerprint evidence or DNA evidence from the police car S5241 that was alleged to be involved in the incident.

There was no evidence provided to the court to prove that Nasheed had met with or contacted the woman who was allegedly raped, the court stated.

Police Chief Inspector Risheef Thoha and Former ‘Mr Maldives’ Police Constable Husham Hameed alleged of being involved and playing a significant role in the incident.

The Police Disciplinary Committee relieved the officers of duty but the cases were then appealed at the Civil Court.

The Civil Court ruled that there was enough evidence to prove Police Chief Inspector Risheef Thoha guilty of the crime and upheld the Disciplinary Committee’s decision.

However, in August this year, the High Court overruled the decision made by the Civil Court and ordered that police reinstate his duties at the rank of Chief Inspector.

In August 2011 a close friend of the alleged victim told Minivan News the incident had occurred near the Seahouse restaurant in Henveiru.

“She would not be older than 22 years, she was friends with the police inspector,’’ the source said. “According to what she told me, she was partying with a group of four police officers, including a senior inspector, and they were all drunk.’’

He alleged that the incident occurred inside a police car.

“She said they threw her onto the street after sexually abusing her,’’ the source added.

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High Court orders reinstatement of Police Chief Inspector Risheef Thoha

The High Court has overruled a decision made by the Civil Court regarding a suit filed against Police Chief Inspector Risheef Thoha, after he was dismissed by the Police Disciplinary Board over allegations that he raped a woman in a police car.

The court ordered that Chief Inspector Thoha be reinstated.

In August last year, a woman filed a case at police headquarters alleging she was sexually abused by a group of police officers, including the chief inspector.

In December 2010 Thoha appealed the decision of the Disciplinary Board at the Civil Court, which ruled that the Board’s decision was lawful and that there was enough evidence to dismiss Thoha from police duty.

The Civil Court noted at the time that Thoha’s call records showed he had contacted the other accused officers several times, and that the officers had also contacted him.

When the locations of the phones were determined, they showed that the car had travelled the routes the woman had said, the Civil Court’s ruling stated.

The ruling also said that the girl was thrown out of the car naked near Thoha ‘s house, Mainz in Maafannu, and that Thoha had admitted to being in the area a few minutes later.

However the High Court today ruled that Thoha be reinstated at the position of Chief Inspector of Police, and paid the salary he had not received during the time he was dismissed.

In August 2011 a close friend of the alleged victim told Minivan News the incident had occurred near Seahouse restaurant in Henveiru.

“She would not be older than 22 years, she was friends with the police inspector,’’ the source said. “According to what she told me, she was partying with a group of four police officers, including a senior inspector, and they were all drunk.’’

He alleged that the incident occurred inside a police car.

“She said they threw her onto the street after sexually abusing her,’’ the source added.

Former ‘Mr Maldives’ Police Constable Husham Hameed was also dismissed after being accused of the same crime, but in April last year the Civil Court ruled that his position also be reinstated.

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Police arrest 37 year-old man on suspicion of raping two teenage girls

A 37 year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping two teenage girls after forcing them to drink alcohol.

The girls – aged 15 and 16 – were raped in the late hours of Tuesday at a rented house on Hulhumale’ island, according to the police.

Staff Sergeant Ismail Ali said the case was reported to the police around  2:30am. The man alleged to have raped the girls was arrested soon afterwards.

The identity of the suspect was not revealed by police as the investigation is ongoing.

“This case is very serious and we are currently investigating it. So no further information can be revealed about the suspect or the case at this stage,” Staff Sergeant Ali noted.

This is the second reported incident of rape this year. In January, police arrested five suspects for allegedly gang-raping a 17 year-old girl in Addu City.

Among the many forms of sexual, physical and emotion violence inflicted on several hundreds of women and girls in Maldives, rape is identified as the most heinous crime, and is being reported at alarmingly high levels.

According to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, 13 rape cases were reported last year alone, of which most were gang rapes and involved minors.

The state-run hospital IGMH’s Family Protection Unit meanwhile reported in 2010 that the centre received 42 cases of rape between 2005-2010. Most cases similarly involved minors.

In 2008 the Global School Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) conducted among 1516 students from secondary school also signaled an astonishing amount of sexual violence, with 17 percent of students reporting being “physically forced” to have sex.

Despite the record high incidence of rapes, the country’s penal code does not classify rape as a separate offence and therefore cannot be prosecuted under any act – a key reason for the distressingly low or non-existent figures on rape convictions.

In HRCM’s initial findings submitted to UN, the commission pointed out that other provisions of the law are used to criminalise rape and that the Prosecutor General’s Office uses sexual assault or forced sexual misconduct charges depending on the gravity of the offence.

“A man can be convicted of rape in the absence of a confession only if there are two male witnesses or four female witnesses willing to testify,” the commission added.

Following a study of reported crimes and convictions in 2010, a coalition of NGOs condemned the performance of the judiciary and the state for its treatment of criminal cases, especially those concerning rape.

They “note with great concern that there is not a single case of ‘rape’ in the statistics maintained by either the PG or the Criminal Court” in 2009.

Information provided by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to Transparency Maldives states that in 2009 ten cases of rape were reported to police, eight of which were investigated and five sent to the Prosecutor General (PG)’s office. However, Criminal Court statistics showed zero cases under ‘rape’ were prosecuted in 2008 and 2009.

At the time, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem said the discrepancy was “a misunderstanding of technical terms.”

“If consent is lacking, regardless of whether or not there was intercourse, the case would fall under sexual misconduct,” he said.

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Man who raped mother receives 16 years’ prison, 39 lashes

Kolamaafushi Court in Gaafu Alifu Atoll has sentenced a man to  39 lashes and 16 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping his mother, in the presence of a minor.

According to police, 31 year-old Abdulla Nizam was sentenced to six years imprisonment and 39 lashes for the rape of an “unmarriageable” person, and a further 10 years imprisonment for having sex in the presence of a minor.

The latter charge is a criminal offence under the Child Sex Abuse Special Provisions Act.

The investigation of the rape was concluded and sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in April 2010, while the  investigation into the presence of the minor was was concluded in September the same year.

The case was investigated by the Villingili Police Station based on the island of Villingili in Gaa Alifu Atoll.

In October last year, police arrested a 26 year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting his 62 year-old grandmother on the island of Hithadhoo of Addu City.

Local media Haveeru reported that time that the 26 year-old man was a grandson of the woman, who was half-paralysed.

In April 2011, a 19 year-old man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 74 year-old elderly woman on the same island.

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Police arrest five suspects in Addu City gang rape

Police have arrested five suspects for allegedly gang-raping a 17 year-old girl in Addu City after midnight last night.

A police spokesperson told Minivan News that the incident occurred at about 1.00am.

“Police received information about the incident at about 1.50am,” he said. ”Police are now investigating the case.”

In addition to two minors aged 17, the other three suspects were aged 19, 20 and 23, police said.

According to local media reports, the victim was abducted and taken to an abandoned house while she was on her way to work.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that a man who drove her to work was involved in the rape and took her to the abandoned house.

In a similar case reported in Addu City during November’s SAARC summit, a police officer was arrested on charges of raping a married woman with two other men.

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