Counter-terrorism operation: child taken from family who refused counselling

A child being neglected educational and medical rights has been transferred under the care of her aunt as part of the ongoing counter-terrorism operation in Maduvvari island of Raa atoll.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) revealed this on Friday night, stating that a family was counselled by the Ministry of Gender, Family on Social Services over their extremist ideologies and refusing to vaccinate and educate their children on Friday. However, the family had refused to accept the counselling following which a young girl was taken from them with the help of officers’ present, and handed over to her aunt.

Sources reported that this is not the 13-year-old child bride who was taken under the protection of the ministry, but a different child.

Neither the police nor the ministry divulged further details in connection to the case, when reached for a comment.

On Thursday, children from another family that were being neglected their medical rights were also vaccinated. An individual was brought into police custody for neglecting medical rights to children, and counselled by the ministry.

After parental consent, three children, all under three-years of age have now been vaccinated.

Vaccinated on Thursday were a four-year-old boy, two-year-old boy and a one-month female infant.

This was done as part of the joint operation conducted in cooperation with the Maldives National Defense Force which began in Maduvvari on Wednesday morning.

The island is deemed to have a large community supporting extremism, recruiting individuals to terrorist organizations as well as obstructing the rights of children and women.

During the operation, officers are seeking out the community on the island that has separated itself from the society by supporting extremist ideologies, expressing interest in joining foreign conflicts and recruiting people to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or more commonly known as ISIS, neglecting their children educational and medical rights such as vaccination as well as keeping their women locked up and imprisoned at home.

This comes at a time the issue of 13-year-old child bride who gave birth in the island, surfaced with the child’s parents having been arrested recently for negligence.

Reports of the 13-year-old child bride being raped and impregnated by a man, Ismail Hammadh surfaced during November and met with public outrage.

He was attacked by crew members on board a sea-cucumber fishing boat over an ideological disagreement on 22 November.

DNA reports have proven that the child is his. The rapist has since been remanded by 15 days. Since the operation was launched, another case of a second pregnant child bride also surfaced.

Two more similar cases of a 13-year-old child bride has also surfaced since the operation began.

Three individuals have been arrested and remanded in the operation thus far. RaajjeMV understands that the operation will continue in seven other islands.