Mother of murdered child Mohamed Ibthihaal has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering her son.
3-year old Mohamed Ibthihaal from Rakeedhoo, Vaavu Atoll died on January 28, 2015, from injuries suffered through torture inflicted by his mother, Aafiya Mohamed. Aafiya Mohamed had admitted in court to physically abusing her son, and provided details of the events which led to Ibthihaal’s death. As such, she confessed to strangling her son to death.
Criminal Court of the Maldives sentenced Aafiya Mohamed to 20 years in prison for the murder of her child. The court sentence read that Islamic Shari’ah and the general verdict of scholars do not allow the death penalty to be imposed on a parent who murdered their own child. The sentence also read that it clear that Aafiya Mohamed tortured her son to death with anger and hatred towards the child, which makes it possible to raise the level of the penalty despite Aafiya’s confession.
Aafiya Mohamed has already spent nearly 6 years in prison, after being apprehended the day after Ibthihaal’s death. The court had ordered her to be kept in remand until the end of the trial.