Two local NGOs today spoke out to condemn the release of suspected child sex offenders during the investigation of their cases, with at least two suspects known to be currently at large in the capital, Malé.
One, Hama Jamiyya, issued a statement saying: “Child abusers …are a dangerous threat to society, and it is an obligation of the State to keep those alleged to have committed such serious crimes, especially sexual crimes against children, under arrest and isolated from children.”
A second, Maldivian Detainee Network, joined the outcry, with co-ordinator Shahindha Ismail saying, “If the State does not protect children, then who is going to?”
Suspects
One suspected abuser, Adnan Hussein, a director at the President’s Office, was arrested in March on suspicion of sexually abusing two children, with his case currently under investigation by police.
He was on house arrest until 28 April, but reliable sources indicate he was seen “at the waterfront meeting his wife and son” whilst under house arrest. On 28 April he was released and is now at large.
Meanwhile, a lance corporal in the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), accused of repeated abuse of a six-year-old child, is at liberty whilst his case proceeds through the courts.
He has not been taken into custody despite allegations of physical abuse, which the child’s family say are backed by medical evidence.
Regulation
Sentencing on sex offences was changed in early February so that for crimes committed after that date, child abusers will face jail rather than a banishment sentence.
At that time, gender minister Aishath Mohamed Didi said: “Banishment gave [offenders] access to other children, which is a clear violation of those children’s rights.”
Meanwhile current regulations state that for offences including terrorism, drug dealing and gang violence, suspects must be kept in custody whilst their cases are investigated and proceed through the courts.
But child sex offences are not on the list, though the Child Protection Authority (CPA) recommends alleged offenders should be kept in custody until a verdict if the investigation indicates guilt.
Shahindha, of Detainee Network, said on Thursday: “When we compare [sex abuse] with the other categories where offenders are not released, sexual offenders are just as much of a menace to society as drug traffickers or gang fighters.”
Change
Both Hama Jamiyya and Detainee Network called for a change in regulations, with Hama Jamiyya pointing out: “According to Law No. 5/78, judges and magistrates must, even after investigation is completed, refer to the type of crime committed and the threat [the suspect] poses to the community, and can decide to keep the alleged offender under arrest until Court proceedings are over and a ruling issued.”
This means current law could be used to ensure child abuse suspects are detained, the NGO said, calling upon the state “to immediately lock up all alleged child abusers that currently remain free.”
Child abuse suspect Ali Rasheed, the imam whose case shocked the island of Baa atoll Goidhoo in May 2007 when five young girls accused him of using Qur’an classes to molest them, remains at large almost a year after the case was first reported to police.
