Maldives court quashes flogging of teenage rape victim

A Maldivian court has overturned a public flogging sentence for a 15-year-old rape victim whose conviction sparked international outrage and focused attention on the holiday isle's treatment of women.
The High Court issued a statement yesterday saying the girl, whose step-father is on trial for raping her, had been wrongly convicted by a juvenile court of having pre-marital sex with another man.
The court said the sentence was handed down based on a confession that the child made while she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, adding she had been "unfit for trial".
The Maldivian government appealed on behalf of the teenager following an international outcry over the February sentence to punish her with 100 lashes when she reached the age of 18.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged after police investigating a complaint that she was raped by her step-father found that she had also been having consensual sex with another man.
Premarital sex is illegal in the Maldives, a popular honeymoon destination in the Indian Ocean, which observes elements of Islamic Sharia law as well as English common law.

Maldivian President Mohamed Waheed was "overjoyed" with the High Court decision, his spokesman told AFP today.
"It is the government's policy to protect victims, but we had to do it within the framework of the law," spokesman Masood Imad said.

Imad said the girl would remain in state care, adding that government authorities had done everything they could to ensure she received proper care and protection.
He also lashed out at the international outcry over the case, saying the government had been unfairly targeted.
"Since the new government came to power (in February 2012), not a single flogging has been carried out in this country," Imad said.