Charges raised in Ruqyah abuse case

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has raised charges against the two individuals accused of abducting and abusing a mother and her daughters, under the name of Ruqyah.

Public prosecutor and media official at the PG Office, Ahmed Shafeeu said that the charges were forwarded to the Criminal Court on Wednesday.

Ismail Waheed, 39, native to Kandholhudhoo island in Raa atoll, is the woman’s husband and father of her children. He is accused of physically abusing and restraining his spouse and children over the course of a prolonged period from June 22 to October 30.

Waheed is to have hired 24-year-old Mohamed Aseel, a self-proclaimed “Ruqyah practitioner” who abducted the women and abused them; mentally, physically and sexually.

While the woman and her family is to have made multiple attempts to report the matter to authorities, the husband’s religious rhetoric was heard. Online news outlet, ‘Mihaaru’ broke the story, back in November.

Days after the story broke, the two suspects were apprehended by police and since have been remanded pending the outcome of trial. The spouse of the abused woman was arrested on November 25 and the practitioner was arrested the very next day. Police forwarded the case for prosecution on December 25.

Seven counts of charges have been raised against Aseel while five charges were raised against the husband.

They are both charged with the confinement of another person without their consent, for a substantial period of time as stated under Section 140 of the Penal Code.

Waheed has also been charged under Section 122 of the Child Rights Protection Act which states that deliberately concealing information regarding the exploitation of a child is an offense.

Two counts of simple assault under Section 120 of the Penal Code as well as one count of negligence against a child under Section 124 of the Child Rights Protection Act have also been levied against Waheed.

PG Office further stated that the “Ruqyah practitioner”, Aseel is charged with touching a child with a sexual intention as stated in the procedure to follow for child sexual abusers, touching an individual without their consent as stated under Section 210 of the Penal Code, a separate charge for assaulting an individual under the same section as well as a sexual abuse charge.

Further, one count of child exploitation under Section 122 of the Child Rights Protection Act and committing a sexual act in front of a child, are also levied against Aseel.

While charges have been raised against the suspects, parliament’s Human Rights and Gender Committee is also probing the case, and has questioned officials from the gender, health and education ministries, as well as the police and Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

These meetings were held behind closed doors, due to the sensitivity of the case.

Gender ministry assures that the victims have been moved to a safe environment, with the Minister, Aishath Mohamed Didi having stressed that “such atrocious acts cannot be and must not be tolerated in the name of religious practice”.