Father jailed for US mutilation

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Last Updated: Thursday, 2 November 2006, 00:53 GMT

Father jailed for US mutilation

Khalid Adem wept in court as the verdict was announced

A man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for the genital

mutilation of his two-year-old daughter, in what is said to be first

such case in the US.

Khalid Adem, an Ethiopian immigrant, was found guilty of aggravated

battery and cruelty to children by the court in the state of Georgia.

Prosecutors said he used scissors to remove his daughter's clitoris in 2001.

A US women's rights group described the verdict as a victory against

female genital mutilation worldwide.

Girl's testimony

Adem, 30, wept loudly as the jury's verdict was read in the town of

Lawrenceville.

This was a violation of her rights as a child, her rights as a

woman, and most of all her rights as a human being, she will never be

the same

Fortunate Adem

Victim's mother

During the trial, he denied the charges and said he found the practice

to be reprehensible.

The girl, who is now seven, had testified on videotape that her father

" cut me on my private part " .

The daughter's mother had said she did not discover that the child was

mutilated until nearly two years later.

" This was a violation of her rights as a child, her rights as a woman,

and most of all her rights as a human being, she will never be the

same, " Fortunate Adem said in the courtroom, according to a tape

recording broadcast by local radio station WSB.

Equality Now, a US women's rights group, said it was the first

recorded case of female genital mutilation in the country.

A recent report by the World Health Organization condemned genital

mutilation, saying it caused infection, appalling pain and serious

long-term injury.

The practice is part of tradition in a number of African countries.

Some communities there believe it helps to preserve a girl's honour.

[Guest guest]

Last Updated: Thursday, 2 November 2006, 00:53 GMT

Father jailed for US mutilation

Khalid Adem wept in court as the verdict was announced

A man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for the genital

mutilation of his two-year-old daughter, in what is said to be first

such case in the US.

Khalid Adem, an Ethiopian immigrant, was found guilty of aggravated

battery and cruelty to children by the court in the state of Georgia.

Prosecutors said he used scissors to remove his daughter's clitoris in 2001.

A US women's rights group described the verdict as a victory against

female genital mutilation worldwide.

Girl's testimony

Adem, 30, wept loudly as the jury's verdict was read in the town of

Lawrenceville.

This was a violation of her rights as a child, her rights as a

woman, and most of all her rights as a human being, she will never be

the same

Fortunate Adem

Victim's mother

During the trial, he denied the charges and said he found the practice

to be reprehensible.

The girl, who is now seven, had testified on videotape that her father

" cut me on my private part " .

The daughter's mother had said she did not discover that the child was

mutilated until nearly two years later.

" This was a violation of her rights as a child, her rights as a woman,

and most of all her rights as a human being, she will never be the

same, " Fortunate Adem said in the courtroom, according to a tape

recording broadcast by local radio station WSB.

Equality Now, a US women's rights group, said it was the first

recorded case of female genital mutilation in the country.

A recent report by the World Health Organization condemned genital

mutilation, saying it caused infection, appalling pain and serious

long-term injury.

The practice is part of tradition in a number of African countries.

Some communities there believe it helps to preserve a girl's honour.