1st female genital mutilation prosecution in UK, 2 in dock
Print Edition
A London doctor and another man will become the first people to be charged in Britain over female genital mutilation, state prosecutors announced yesterday.
Dr Dhanoun Dharmasena is accused of re-performing an FGM procedure on a woman who gave birth at his hospital in November 2012 following damage caused by labor.
Another man, Hasan Mohamed, is accused of intentionally encouraging an offense of FGM, and of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring Dharmasena to commit the offense.
It was not immediately clear what Mohamed’s relationship to the victim was, but he is not a health care professional.
“It was alleged that following a patient giving birth in November 2012, a doctor at the Whittington Hospital, in London, repaired FGM that had previously been performed on the patient, allegedly carrying out FGM himself,” said Alison Saunders, director of public prosecutions.
“Having carefully considered all the available evidence, I have determined there is sufficient evidence and it would be in the public interest to prosecute Dr Dhanoun Dharmasena.”
Both Dharmasena and Mohamed will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 15.
Some 100 to 140 million girls and women globally are thought to have undergone FGM, which ranges from removal of the clitoris to more widespread mutilation, and can lead to infection and long-term severe pain.
FGM has been illegal in Britain since 1985 but no-one has ever been prosecuted.
The latest Department of Health figures from 2007 suggest that 66,000 women in England and Wales are living with the consequences of FGM, and a further 23,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk every year.
FGM was first made illegal in Britain under a 1985 law, which was extended in 2003 to make it an offence for British nationals or permanent residents to carry out FGM abroad or seek FGM abroad, even where it is legal. The maximum penalty is 14 years in jail.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
