Advertisement slanders German rape victim in Goa

     Panaji, Oct 28 (IANS) An advertisement in a daily here Tuesday has created a controversy for allegedly defamatory references to a minor German rape victim, and a child rights panel is planning legal action.

     The English daily Herald carried the half-page advertisement supported by 390 named individuals.

     The advertisement, besides identifying the victim's mother by name, also claims that the victim was "romping with men of older age at Goan night clubs".

     The Child Rights Goa (CRG) said it would take the daily to court for violating directives from the Goa Children's Court on not revealing the identity of the minor German victim.

     "The advertisement is a blatant violation of the ruling given by the Goa Children's Court. We will inform the court about the gross violation," Audrey Pinto of CRG told IANS.

     The advertisment also accuses Aires Rodrigues, the lawyer representing the victim's mother, of indulging in bigamy.

     Rodrigues told IANS the advertisement was the handiwork of Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao, whose nephew Warren has been accused of raping the minor girl.

     "Many names of the signatories in the advertisement are bogus. It's the handiwork of Churchill Alemao who is trying to divert (people's) attention," Rodrigues said.

     When contacted, Herald editor Ashwin Tombat said: "I cannot comment on the advertisement."

     The German mother, fighting for justice to her daughter, filed a police complaint this month accusing Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate's son Rohit of raping her daughter.

     Indo-Asian News Service

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