I cannot sign the Amnesty International petition against flogging: The petition uses the disparity between the practice of flogging in the Maldives and the principle of penalising fornication as a platform to call for decriminalising fornication, which is clearly against Islamic principles.
So here is my own Petition to the Government of the Maldives:
"I am outraged on hearing that a 15 year old girl, who has survived rape by her stepfather and a resultant pregnancy, has now been found guilty of "fornication" and sentenced to flogging and house arrest.
I call on you to release the girl immediately and unconditionally, and ensure that she is not flogged or otherwise punished. Survivors of rape or other forms of sexual abuse need counselling and support - not prosecution. The 15 year old girl must be provided with adequate and appropriate protective and support services.
While I welcome Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik's statement 28 February that "the Government will facilitate and supervise her appeal of the case, via the girl’s lawyer, to ensure that justice is done and her rights are protected", I want to be assured that the provision for the offence of fornication will no longer be abused to prosecute minors, victims of sexual assault and people of unsound mind."
So here is my own Petition to the Government of the Maldives:
"I am outraged on hearing that a 15 year old girl, who has survived rape by her stepfather and a resultant pregnancy, has now been found guilty of "fornication" and sentenced to flogging and house arrest.
I call on you to release the girl immediately and unconditionally, and ensure that she is not flogged or otherwise punished. Survivors of rape or other forms of sexual abuse need counselling and support - not prosecution. The 15 year old girl must be provided with adequate and appropriate protective and support services.
While I welcome Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik's statement 28 February that "the Government will facilitate and supervise her appeal of the case, via the girl’s lawyer, to ensure that justice is done and her rights are protected", I want to be assured that the provision for the offence of fornication will no longer be abused to prosecute minors, victims of sexual assault and people of unsound mind."
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