Extremist group with child brides under investigation

A religious extremist group with child brides was uncovered last Thursday after a dispute within the group led to a near-fatal stabbing.

Ismail Hammad, from Madduvari island in Raa atoll, was stabbed on a fishing boat and narrowly escaped by jumping and swimming to a nearby island. He was assaulted for refusing to pledge allegiance to the leader of the group and “sentenced to death” by his colleagues, according to media reports.

The crew of the fishing boat have since been arrested but police declined to provide further information. A magistrate court on Rasdhoo island in Alif Alif atoll has remanded a 30-year-old suspect into custody for 10 days, police said.

The 26-year-old stabbing victim was reportedly married to a 13-year-old girl who was now pregnant and another man in the same group married a nine-year-old girl. Both marriages were illegal and administered out of court.