Miscarriage of Justice in Ireland’s FGM landmark case?

After almost ten years of fighting to have their names cleared, a couple in Dublin at the centre of Ireland’s first and only FGM prosecution will finally have their bid for a certificate of a Miscarriage of Justice heard.

This will be in the Court of Appeal, in Dublin’s Criminal Courts of Justice before a panel of three judges from 22 -23 January 2026.

But how did this happen and why has it taken almost ten years for justice to be served?

Fortunately RTÉ Documentary on One and RTÉ sought to get to the bottom of it and chronicled the couple’s quest for justice. They investigated the case and the false convictions which resulted in the couple’s imprisonment. First Conviction was a podcast series broadcast weekly from 8 -28 October. The final episode and a television documentary were aired on 12 November.

The series was narrated by actor Ruth Negga.

Episode 01. The Incident

The young couple were at home in Dublin with their two young children on a morning in September 2016. The recently changed, nappyless 21 months old girl turned, ran and fell onto a toy. Her cries startled her parents who went to comfort her. As they picked her up, they noticed she was bleeding. They took her to hospital where FGM was suspected and the state agency TUSLA were advised. A referral was also made to the police. Their lives then changed forever.

Episode 02. Waiting and Hoping 

After four days under supervision in hospital the couple realised they were in real trouble. No one appeared to believe they didn’t harm their daughter. Within a week they were in a police station, answering questions. A French translator was used with the father but concerns about the quality of the translation became evident then and later. 

An UK FGM expert confirmed the Irish Doctors’ suspicion of Type 1 FGM. The parents manintained their innocence. Their home was forensically examined. A Care and Supervision Order was granted by a Family Court. The family were reunited 18 days after the child’s admission and continued to be monitored at home by TUSLA. The mother was arrested in December 2016, photographed and strip searched but was released without charge.

Episode 03. Trial One

Having had their children under supervision and monitored by authorities for three years, and having had to sign on bail twice weekly, the couple finally faced trial in 2019. It was the first of its kind in Ireland and lasted for six days. The parents had maintained their innocence throughout and hoped the jury would believe them. They felt so alone. When their community and friends had learnt of the FGM accusation they had been ostracised.

Episode 04. Verdict

The couple faced two court charges – an act of FGM against their daughter, and child cruelty. If found guilty they faced up to 14 years in prison. Medical witnesses all agreed that FGM had happened, but the parents disagreed with the experts. They remained confident that the truth would out. 

Dr Hodes from the UK was the essential prosecution expert witness. She believed the history of the injury didn’t fit the medical findings but was instead consistent with Type 1 FGM.

The father gave evidence in French via a translator but his testimony was lost in translation and confusion arose in regard to e.g. whether his daughter had been standing, sitting, or straddling the toy.

After four hours of deliberation the jury unaimously agreed the parents were guilty of all charges. They were refused bail and were taken directly to holding cells. The case made news worldwide.

It became apparent after the trial and conviction that an important video of medical evidence and a report by a paediatric consultant from October 2019 had not been shared with the legal teams.

The parents had wanted their daughter examined by an FGM medical expert but this wasn’t approved.

Episode 05. 750 days

Having both been found guilty, the father was sentenced to five and a half years for FGM and three for neglect in January 2020. The mother received four years and nine months for FGM and two years and nine months for neglect. Their sentences were to run concurrently.

The mother was taken to Mountjoy prison and the father to a Midlands’ medium security prison. Their children were all placed in the care of relatives but Tusla were the legal guardians. The mother continued to express milk for her baby.

The couple did not have contact for a year. They both felt lonely, anxious and confused and came in for a hard time from other inmates. The mother felt suicidal.

However, the father learnt from other inmates that he could change his legal team and the parents sought and were eventually accepted by new legal firms. These teams raised concerns about the safety of the convictions – of the translations and of the FGM diagnosis in particular.

Episode 06. Limbo

The Court of Appeal heard the case in 2021 and found “serious, and potentially far-reaching, inaccuracies” in the interpretation at the criminal trial.

The child at the centre of the trial had never been physically examined by an FGM medical expert but when a Swedish expert, Dr Essén reviewed all of the medical evidence, the child’s genitalia was found intact and undamaged.

The Doctor’s findings were explosive. The unsafe and unsatisfactory conviction was quashed. But unlike at the first trail there was little media coverage. The couple were released to rebuild relationships with their children. 

A second trial was held in June 2023 and Dr Essén was present. Dr Hodes attended on behalf of the prosecution. But the trial resulted in a hung jury. 

January 2024 was agreed for a third trial. In the interim, the now nine years old girl had been physically examined by Dr Essén. Her genitals were uncut and intact. Because Dr Hodes had (exceptionally) been unwilling or was unavailable to the Prosecution, the DPP had to find found another medical expert. She independently confirmed Dr Essén’s findings. Two experts now agreed that the girl had not undergone FGM. 

But the DPP did not want to accept a Miscarriage of Justice plea and a Nolle Prosequi was issued instead. This meant that the state was no longer proceeding with the prosecution. The couple were not acquitted however. The prosecution were continuing to rely on the evidence of their first but no longer involved/available expert, Dr Hodes, instead of their second expert’s evidence.

The couple remain in a legal limbo awaiting justice. The state is still refusing to accept that a crime did not take place. But a Certificate of a Miscarriage of Justice hearing is scheduled for January 2026.

Unsurprisingly, the couple have lost trust in the judicial system and in the state but not in the Irish people. Their children are Irish after all.

Questions

Many questions have arisen from this case – about medical expertise and evidence, court translators’ expertise and the quality of their work, the delaying tactics of the DPP and the huge cost of pursuing the couple over 10 years for a crime that never happened.

I wrote about some in 2019 after the first trial when I suggested the child may indeed have suffered a straddle injury. And of my concerns generally in regard to FGM medical expertise.

Considering the enormity of these issues, there’s been little real discussion in the media about them. Even the Irish charity AkiDwA, a member of the End FGM European Network and an organisation which has been working on FGM in Ireland since 2001 (and who were quick to to suggest the conviction was a step in the right direction in 2019), haven’t yet commented.

Surely these organisations are not disappointed that the legal coup campaigners seem to want in regard to FGM convictions was not the type they wanted? Perhaps they’re still rethinking the significance of the court decision in regard to their belief that ‘it shows once more that FGM is happening in Europe.’

I wish England’s first FGM conviction had been similarly investigated. I believe a Miscarriage of Justice may have ensued in 2019 following a three week trial.