the Maldives
You think your family has problems?
A man from Maldives was not only charged with sexually abusing his 15-year-old step-daughter, but also for the murder of the baby allegedly conceived from it. Both the man and girl were arrested after the body of the baby was found buried outside their house in Feydhoo last June.
The girl later admitted to the police that she had consensual sex with another man. Not a good idea. Sex outside marriage is illegal in the Maldives. Officials in the strict Islamic country sentenced the girl to 100 lashes for having pre-marital sex, reports the Daily Mail. The lashes will be carried out when the girl turns 18 and will be placed under eight months of house arrest.
Amnesty International said the charges were “outrageous” and the Maldivian government has reportedly pleaded with the court for leniency arguing that the girl had been “traumatized” by the sexual abuse.
“Victims of rape or other forms of sexual abuse should be given counselling and support, not charged with a crime,” a spokesperson for Amnesty International said. “Flogging is a violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.”
There is no word on whether or not the courts will reconsider the girl’s punishment.
The step-father faces 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a minor, possessing pornography, and murder, while the girl’s mother is charged with concealing a crime and a murder.