LONDON: A London doctor and another man will become the first people to be charged in Britain over female genital mutilation, state prosecutors announced on Friday.
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 offence of FGM, and of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring Dharmasena to commit the offence.
It was not immediately clear what Mohamed’s relationship to the victim was, but he is not a healthcare 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. There have been increasing calls on police and the government to act, and last month ministers introduced a new requirement on British hospitals to keep a record of patients who have been subjected to FGM.
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.
First female genital mutilation cases to be prosecuted in Britain
First female genital mutilation cases to be prosecuted in Britain
Uganda army denies seizing opposition leader as vote result looms
- Election day was marred by significant technical problems after biometric machines
- There were also reports of violence against the opposition in other parts of the country
KAMPALA: Uganda’s army denied claims on Saturday that opposition leader Bobi Wine had been abducted from his home, as counting continued in an election marred by reports of at least 10 deaths amid an Internet blackout.
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, looked set to be declared winner and extend his 40-year rule later on Saturday, with a commanding lead against Wine, a former singer turned politician.
Wine said Friday that he was under house arrest, and his party later wrote on X that he had been “forcibly taken” by an army helicopter from his compound.
The army denied that claim.
“The rumors of his so-called arrest are baseless and unfounded,” army spokesman Chris Magezi told AFP.
“They are designed to incite his supporters into acts of violence,” he added.
AFP journalists said the situation was calm outside Wine’s residence early Saturday, but they were unable to contact members of the party due to continued communications interruptions.
A nearby stall-owner, 29-year-old Prince Jerard, said he heard a drone and helicopter at the home the previous night, with a heavy security presence.
“Many people have left (the area),” he said. “We have a lot of fear.”
With more than 80 percent of votes counted on Friday, Museveni was leading on 73.7 percent to Wine’s 22.7, the Electoral Commission said.
Final results were due around 1300 GMT on Saturday.
Wine, 43, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has emerged as the main challenger to Museveni in recent years, styling himself the “ghetto president” after the slum areas where he grew up in the capital, Kampala.
He has accused the government of “massive ballot stuffing” and attacking several of his party officials under cover of the Internet blackout, which was imposed ahead of Thursday’s polls and remained in place on Saturday.
His claims could not be independently verified, but the United Nations rights office said last week that the elections were taking place in an environment marked by “widespread repression and intimidation” against the opposition.
- Reports of violence -
Analysts have long viewed the election as a formality.
Museveni, a former guerrilla fighter who seized power in 1986, has total control over the state and security apparatus, and has ruthlessly crushed any challenger during his rule.
Election day was marred by significant technical problems after biometric machines — used to confirm voters’ identities — malfunctioned and ballot papers were undelivered for several hours in many areas.
There were reports of violence against the opposition in other parts of the country.
Muwanga Kivumbi, member of parliament for Wine’s party in the Butambala area of central Uganda, told AFP’s Nairobi office by phone that security forces had killed 10 of his campaign agents after storming his home.
