Somali Woman Could Face Charges For Making False Rape Claim, Nauru’s Government Says

A 26-year-old Somali woman who says she was raped in August may be charged with making a false complaint to police, the Nauruan government says. The refugee’s case was raised last month on “7.30”, after the program obtained a video recording of the emergency call she made after the alleged incident on August 21. The woman, known as Najma, reported to police that two Nauruan men had dragged her into the bushes and raped her.

Earlier this week, the island nation’s government released a statement rejecting the woman’s claims. “There was no lacerations or bruising around the vaginal region and a spermatozoa test on the victim after a vaginal swab proved negative,” the statement said. It also distributed a police file of the incident, including the alleged rape victim’s real name.

Now Nauru’s justice minister, David Adeang, says Namja could have committed a crime. Mr Adeang, who said the women concerned may face charges of making a false complaint, stood by the country’s police force “one hundred per cent”: “The police investigation has shown there was no rape. Therefore, as far as we are concerned, the person in question is not a rape victim or a victim of any crime,” he explained in a Nauru government statement.

“The person did not cooperate with police and refused to accompany police to what she alleged was the crime scene.” The minister said media outlets should stop referring to the person as a rape victim and should accept the findings of the investigation.

Mr Adeang said media outlets — including the ABC — were not interested “in the truth” and reports were “insulting to genuine victims of assault”. “These media outlets have such an agenda they only accept the truth that suits them. Truth is the real victim here,” the minister claimed.

Source: Radio Australia