Indonesian girl jailed over abortion

JAKARTA: A 15-year-old girl who was raped by her older brother has been jailed for six months for having an abortion, an Indonesian official said Saturday. The girl was sentenced Thursday alongside her 17-year-old brother in a closed hearing at Muara Bulian District Court on the island of Sumatra, court spokesman Listyo Arif Budiman said. “The girl was charged under the child protection law for having an abortion,” he told AFP. Her brother was sentenced to two years in jail for sexually assaulting a minor. Indonesia forbids abortion unless a woman´s life is at risk or under certain circumstances if she is raped. The law requires that an abortion must be performed by a registered professional no later than six weeks into a pregnancy, and the woman must undergo counselling. The girl, who was raped by her brother eight times starting in September last year, had the abortion about six months after becoming pregnant, Budiman said. She was helped by her mother who is facing separate charges.