On February 16, 2024, the UK Central Criminal Court handed down its sentence [3] in the unprecedented female genital mutilation (FGM) case against British national Amina Noor for her role in carrying out an FGM procedure performed on a UK citizen abroad. 

In 2006, Noor took the victim, who was three years old at the time, to Kenya, where a woman performed the FGM procedure. Noor argued that she had felt pressured by her mother and family, who she alleged threatened her with disownment and violence. In his sentencing remarks, Justice Simon Bryce rejected the existence of such threats. He indicated that such pressure, even if it did exist, did not excuse her complicity in the procedure. In response to Noor's claims that she lacked sufficient knowledge as to the nature of the procedure, the judgment expressed certainty that Noor was well informed, concluding her culpability was "very high." 

The conviction, reached last year, found Noor guilty of violating section 3 of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 [4], which prohibits anyone from taking girls overseas to perform the procedure. This first-of-its-kind decision, marked a critical step for the UK in addressing FGM procedures committed against British nationals abroad. 

The sentencing judgment highlights the "very high harm" caused by the defendant, given the serious physical and psychological consequences of FGM. Justice Bryce emphasized the gravity of the offense by citing case law [5] identifying FGM as a form of torture under various human rights conventions. 

The Central Criminal Court sentenced Noor to seven years imprisonment following section 3 of the Female Genal Mutilation Act 2003, which allows for a maximum of fourteen years.