Woman convicted of aiding FGM of young girl abroad in legal first

A woman has been found guilty of aiding the female genital mutilation of a young girl in Kenya in the first conviction of its kind.

Amina Noor, 39, from London, denied assisting a non-UK person to mutilate the female genitalia of a British citizen overseas but was today convicted by a jury following a trial at the Old Bailey.

It is the first time a person in England and Wales has been convicted of female genital mutilation (FGM) offences committed abroad.

Patricia Strobino, Senior Crown Prosecutor within the CPS London Complex Casework Unit and area FGM lead, said: “Female genital mutilation is an abhorrent offence which can have a physical and psychological impact on victims that lasts a lifetime.

“The victim in this case was just a young child at the time; she would have had no ability to resist this appalling practice and undoubtedly suffered enormously.

“We want to send a strong message that this crime does not have to be carried out in the UK for perpetrators to be prosecuted by the CPS – we will seek justice for victims regardless of where in the world it is committed and offenders should be clear there is no hiding place.

“We know this abuse can be incredibly difficult for victims to come forward to report but we want to be clear that we will support victims of this unacceptable violence and will not hesitate to prosecute wherever our legal test is met, no matter how long ago or where the offence occurred.”

Jaswant Narwal, CPS national lead for honour-based abuse, female genital mutilation and forced marriage, added: “Female genital mutilation is a form of violence against women and girls, and in the latter case it is child abuse.

“There are many complexities involved in prosecuting this type of offending, which can be committed in close-knit communities, historically, and abroad, but this is no barrier to the CPS prosecuting wherever our legal test is met.

“We are clear there is no place for this unacceptable practice in society. We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to safeguard and support victims of FGM and bring perpetrators to justice.”

An investigation was launched by the Metropolitan Police in November 2018 after the victim informed a teacher she had suffered FGM as a young child.

Police discovered Noor had taken the victim to Kenya years earlier where she was subjected to FGM by a Kenyan woman.

Noor claimed in police interview that she believed the victim would be injected or pierced in a “procedure” known as “Gudniin” – an Arabic word meaning “circumcision”. She also claimed the victim did not appear to be in pain following the procedure.

However medical experts who examined the victim found she had not simply been injected – she had suffered severe mutilation of her genitals.

This is likely to have caused significant bleeding and extreme pain, especially if an astringent agent was used to stop the bleeding.

The CPS worked closely with police and the National Crime Agency and was ultimately able to prove that during the visit to Kenya, Noor knew some form of FGM was to be committed against the victim and intentionally assisted in the commission of that offence.

Noor will be sentenced at a later date.