Verklaring Hoge Vertegenwoordiger Ashton over mishandeling 15-jarig meisje op de Malediven (en)

Statement by the spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the sentence of flogging for a 15-year-old girl in the Maldives

"The High Representative is appalled by the reported sentence of a 15-year-old girl to one hundred lashes in the Maldives. Corporal punishment, including flogging, amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and the fact that the convicted person is a child makes the court sentence even more cruel and inhumane.

Moreover, the child concerned is allegedly a victim of long-standing sexual abuse. The Maldives is party to international obligations in numerous international human rights frameworks that oblige it to implement prevention measures, as well as to prosecute the perpetrators and protect the victims of sexual abuse. To inflict corporal punishment on a victim of sexual abuse is in direct contradiction with these obligations.

The High Representative notes the statement by the Government of Maldives expressing concern over this case and urging that the prosecution and sentence be retracted".