November 17, 2018
On November 16 (Friday), six British men of Pakistani origin were sentenced for a total of 101 years in jail by Sheffield Crown Court, reported The Indian Express. The sentence has come after a mass sexual abuse scandal against underage girls was discovered in Rotherham in northern England.
The names of the convicts are Mohammed Imran Ali Akhtar, Asif Ali, Tanweer Ali, Salah Ahmed El-Hakam, Nabeel Kurshid and Iqlak Yousaf.
Five girls have been the victimised by these men, one as young as 13. By the time one of the victims claimed that by the time she turned 16, she had been raped by at least 100 men of the same ethnicity as the convicts.
It was revealed that the convicts used to force girls into drugs and alcohol in order to exploit them for sexual gratification. The girls were also tortured, beaten and trafficked for money.
The Indian Express quoted Officer Paul Williamson as saying, “The men who have been sentenced today preyed on vulnerable young girls for their own satisfaction. They used violence and intimidation and believed they were untouchable by law enforcement.”
Operation Stovewood, undertaken by National Crime Agency of the UK which led to the current case has revealed shocking and horrible details regarding prevalent sexual abuse in Rotherham.
The report by the agency put the number of children believed to have been sexually exploited in the town of Rotherham over 16-year period at an astonishing 1,510.
The NCA had identified 110 suspects of being part of child-grooming gangs in Rotherham. More than 80 percent of the suspects were of Pakistani Muslim background, a number disproportionately higher than their population share at 1.8 per cent.
The fact had heightened racial tensions in United Kingdom with people believing that the community of the majority of perpetrators turned a blind eye to the rampant abuse. People also alleged that the behaviour was condoned and even encouraged by religious extremists in the community.
Victims also stated that the perpetrators insulted them and said that they deserved the treatment being given to them based on their non-Muslim identity.
Citizens also criticised the local administration and police to have ignored victims’ pleas and failing to uncover the gang for a long time. Some allege that the administration and law enforcement officers were afraid of being branded ‘racist’ and inflaming the communal tension in the country.
Source : Swarajya
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