A DEFENCE lawyer has produced shocking documents that claim her client, who is on trial for rape, was married to a 12-year-old girl.
Her 28-year-old client, a Bangladeshi man, is standing trial at the High Criminal Court for allegedly kidnapping and repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl, also a Bangladeshi national.
The man is accused of abducting the girl from outside her school in Sanad on March 15 last year.
Threat
He is also said to have raped her on a number of occasions throughout that week, before she confided in her parents, months later, and lodged a police complaint.
In her statement to prosecutors, the girl said that on one of the days the man had abducted her, he threatened to kill her if she did not sign a blank piece of paper.
The man’s defence lawyer Najla Ali yesterday made the shocking argument that he had “consensual sex” with the 12-year-old girl and presented a marriage certificate to the court.
However, she admitted the marriage certificate was not officially signed or approved by a court in Bahrain. Under Bahrain’s law, a woman should be aged over 16 to be legally married.
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The lawyer also submitted a copy of the victim’s diary, which she claimed contained “love poems to her husband”.
“Your honour, this is a marriage certificate that the victim had signed with her own will,” said Ms Ali in court yesterday.
“I also present to you a copy of the girl’s diary where she wrote love poems to her husband, my client.
“She was never kidnapped and was never raped – the girl is married to my client and they had consensual sex.”
However, the girl’s parents have dismissed the defendant’s claims and have questioned the authenticity of the marriage certificate.
Her father, a 47-year-old Bangladeshi national, said he was shocked when he learned of the incident.
“I was shocked and could not believe what happened – she is only 12,” he said in his statement to the Public Prosecution.
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Force
“In October, I returned home and I saw him sitting in my house with my daughter, who said that he had forcibly married her.
“I immediately informed authorities about what had happened to my daughter.
“My daughter was crying and said that he forced her to sign a blank piece of paper.”
In her statement to the Public Prosecution, the 12-year-old girl said that the defendant threatened to kill her if she did not sign the blank paper.
“He kidnapped me and pushed me against a wall and said he would kill me if I did not sign a blank piece of paper,” she said.
“He repeatedly raped me for a week and I could not do anything.”
The trial has been adjourned until February 12 for a ruling.
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