Rape Victim 100 Lashes, For Premarital Sex in Maldives; 'Cruel, Degrading & Inhumane'

A rape victim received sentence of 100 lashes and eight months house arrest in Maldives, sparking an international flurry of anger. The Brutal punishment is by the Islamic court for engaging in premarital sex.

The rape victim current at 15 will receive the punishment when she turns 18 for allegedly having consensual sex with another man in an incident unrelated to the rape.

Sex outside of marriage is illegal under Islamic law in the Maldives, and is considered a serious offense.

As the teen was allegedly raped by her stepfather and became pregnant and when the baby was born, the man killed and buried the child. During the investigation authorities found evidence that she had engaged in premarital sex with another man. Both the teenage girl and stepfather are facing punishment.

The girl's stepfather faces 25 years in jail if convicted for rape and for allegedly killing the baby.

Amnesty International has said the rape victim's punishment is "cruel, degrading and inhumane."

"The girl is already a victim and is traumatized, the authorities should be trying to protect her, not punish her," Meenakshi Ganguly, south Asia director for Human Rights Watch told the AFP, calling flogging "an inhuman, degrading practice... the kind of punishment that should not exist in their law books."

The Maldives, although a popular tourist destination, is a strictly Islamic nation that faces harsh criticism for its Islamic fundamentalism practice of Sharia law.