Peshawar cleric sentenced to death for raping minor girl

 A child protection court on Saturday sentenced a cleric to death for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in Peshawar two years ago. Judge Wadeeya Mustaq Malik ruled that Qari Saeed based in Peshawar was found guilty of an offence of rape.

As per reports, the convict was also given a fine of Rs300,000 as the girl had suffered mental and physical torture and lifelong trauma. The convict should compulsorily pay a fine to her in the form of saving certificates to be withdrawn by her on reaching the age of 18 years, stated the court in its order.

“As far as the quantum of sentence is concerned, no mitigating circumstances could be found and rather, aggravating circumstances exist. The rape was committed of a girl aged eight years,” said the judge, adding that the convict was a mosque’s pesh imam (prayer leader), who committed the crime in one of its rooms.

The convict held the Master’s degree in Islamiyat and led Friday prayers in his mosque.

The court added that the crime was gruesome, as the convict was also found guilty of committing sexual violence by biting and bruising the child on her neck.

“The statement of child witness not only found confidence-inspiring, truthful but also has not been contradicted on the material aspect,” said the court. “[The] sole testimony of [the] victim of an offence if inspires confidence can be safely relied upon for the purpose of conviction and when as rule of prudence same is supported through confirmatory medical evidence not a single circumstances can be inferred for false implication of the accused facing trial at behest of police.”

The FIR of the sexual assault was filed by the police on March 14, 2019, on the complaint of father of the girl.

The complainant had stated that he and other family members were present in their house when his daughter came from outside crying and said Qari Saeed called her to the mosque on the excuse of giving away an amulet but sexually assaulted her in a room there.

The convict didn’t accept the charge and claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case at the behest of the Ahmadi community as he was very vocal against it. However, he failed to verify that claim.

The defence counsel also insisted that the girl might have received injuries accidentally and that she was not subjected to a sexual assault.

The girl was also presented  in the court as witness where she testified against the prayer leader.

She said that her father gave her Rs 10 to buy candies and when she was returning from the shop, the convict had asked her to accompany him to the nearby mosque so that he can give her an amulet (taweez). The girl said the convict took her to his room in the mosque and sexually assaulted her.

The court has also invoked a provision of the KP Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010, prohibiting the publishing of any information regarding the girl’s identity, including picture, name, status, address or school.