A 15-year-old Maldives girl who was repeatedly raped by her stepfather is now being sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 100 lashes, after she confessed to having premarital sex with another man.
The girl is deeply traumatized by her stepfather’s abuse, according to a report in the Independent. Her punishment for sex with another man has generated a massive outcry across the globe — yet Maldives government officials say their hands are tied and they can’t prevent the sentence from going forth, CNN said.
The country has strict premarital sex laws that mandate floggings to violators.
“She has been sexually abused and at the same time she has been charged with an offense,” said Abbas Faiz, a researcher with Amnesty International, quoted by United Press International. “We are really outraged at this punishment.”
A Maldives official said she offered the girl the opportunity to be lashed now, or wait until she turned 18, according to one report.
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Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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