For the first time in British legal history, a man was given a “deterrent sentence” of four and a half years in prison for conspiring to commit female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage after he was accused of arranging to send a young girl to Iraq.
Third prosecution in England and Wales on FGM/C secured; first prosecution on conspiracy @semagornall with BBC today discussing the landmark case. pic.twitter.com/AnWhSyu19H
— The Vavengers (@TheVavengers) October 3, 2024
Last September, 47-year-old Emad Kaky was found guilty of conspiring to commit FGM, the first time in UK history a person was convicted of a conspiracy charge concerning FGM since the country made it illegal to have women and girls travel abroad to undergo FGM in 2003.
During a trial at a crown court in Nottingham that lasted two weeks, the court heard how Kaky, a visiting scholar at the time of his arrest, had arranged for a child to travel from the UK to Iraq, where he arranged for her to undergo FGM and then forced into marriage.
His plans were uncovered before the crimes could be carried out when a witness, who arranged for the victim to travel back to the UK, reported Kaky to the authorities. He was then arrested for conspiracy to commit FGM and forced marriage, which he denied.
Judge Nirmal Shant KC, the presiding judge who sentenced Kaky, strongly condemned his actions and even described them as “barbaric.”
“You made concerted efforts to make sure this happened. I make, nonetheless, some adjustment for the fact that no FGM took place, and importantly, thankfully, [the girl] was unaware of any of these plans,” the judge said. “This offense calls for a deterrent sentence. What you did, what you had planned, was barbaric.”
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was able to proceed with the case after they proved that FGM is also illegal in Iraq. It also provided evidence to the court that Kaky had booked and paid for the trip to Iraq while living in Nottingham.
FGM cases have risen by 15% in England.
There was over 14,000 attendances at hospitals & GP surgeries regarding FGM last year.
FGM is the most gynophobic thing on earth.
That barbaric practice has no place in any civilised country.https://t.co/HVWahiYH3u— Biology Rules Ok (@OkayBiology) September 20, 2024
Messages on his phone showed Kaky had intended for the victim to be subjected to FGM and forced into marriage, calling FGM “normal” in one of these messages.
The court heard the offenses occurred in 2019, but it took several years for Kaky to be charged due to the case’s complexity. Kaky had already moved to Swansea during this time.
“This has been a landmark prosecution, not just because it is the first conviction of its kind, but for the message it sends to people who may be vulnerable to this horrific form of abuse.” Janine McKinney, the chief crown prosecutor for CPS in the East Midlands region, said regarding the case.
Where is the #WomensMarch2019
VIRGINIA: Imam at Muslim Brotherhood Mosque where the Fort Hood shooter trained & TWO of the 9/11 terrorists attended endorses FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION - it prevents ‘hypersexuality’
More than half a million females in the U.S. are at risk of FGM! pic.twitter.com/b60Xkuumcj— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) January 19, 2019
Figures from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) confirmed that hospital and doctor attendance about FGM has risen by 15%, prompting calls for greater protection for girls from FGM, which has been considered a form of child abuse.
Geraldine Kelly, the defense lawyer for the case, told the court that Kaky’s academic accomplishments as a PhD student at the University of Nottingham were “respected” and “impressive” and that losing his job was “in itself a form of punishment.”
The University of Nottingham distanced themselves from Kaky and said he was a visiting scholar at the university when his crimes were exposed.
“There is no place for such barbaric offenses in our society, and our thoughts are with those who have been affected by these actions. Following the arrest of Emad Kaky, the university ended its association with him and withdrew the invitation to him as a visiting academic,” a spokesperson for the university said.
