Press statement:
Seyaj Organization for Childhood Protection called on the deputy prosecutor of Al-Ta’ziyah district in Taiz governorate to expedite the completion of the investigation and refer the case of the rape of a seven-year-old girl, identified as R.M.A., to the court, while demanding the strongest legal penalties against the perpetrator.
Seyaj said that the accused, identified as S.A.R., was among those expected to protect public safety and social peace, but instead misused his power and position to commit a brutal assault against an innocent child.
The organization therefore called for the case file to be urgently referred to the court and for a prompt trial that would ensure the highest degree of legal punishment for such horrific crimes that threaten social peace.
Seyaj also noted that the child had lost her father and that her mother had remarried. The child had been living in the care of her grandmother, who later died from the shock of what happened to her granddaughter, according to the report submitted to Seyaj. The organization reminded the prosecution that, under its legal responsibilities, it stands in the position of a father and protector for the girl.
Seyaj added that crimes of child rape have increased unprecedentedly in recent years as a direct consequence of war, the absence of state authority and rule of law, and the impunity enjoyed by the vast majority of perpetrators. This is due in part to families’ fear of stigma and public exposure, as well as to the weakness of security, justice, and child-protection institutions, especially in rural areas where nearly seventy percent of the population lives.
