A former PhD student has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for arranging to send a young girl to Iraq for female genital mutilation (FGM), in the first conviction of its kind in England and Wales. Emad Kaky, 47, was found guilty of conspiring to commit FGM last month, the first time a person had been convicted of a conspiracy charge in relation to FGM. A two-week trial at Nottingham crown court heard how Kaky had arranged for a child to travel from the UK to Iraq where he had organised for her to be subjected to FGM and forced into marriage. The plans were uncovered, before the crimes could be carried out, by a witness who arranged for the girl to travel back to the UK and reported Kaky to the police. Kaky was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit FGM and forced marriage, which he denied. Sentencing Kaky, Judge Nirmal Shant KC said his plans were barbaric. “You made concerted efforts to make sure this happened. I make, nonetheless, some adjustment for the fact that no FGM took place, and importantly, thankfully, [the girl] was unaware of any of these plans,” she said. “This offence calls for a deterrent sentence. What you did, what you had planned, was barbaric.” The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was able to proceed with the case after proving FGM was a criminal offence in Iraq. It provided evidence to the court that Kaky had booked and paid for the trip to Iraq while living in Nottingham. Messages on his phone showed that he intended for the victim to be subjected to FGM and forced into marriage, and showed him calling FGM “normal”. The court heard the offences happened in 2019, but it took several years for Kaky to be charged due to the complexity of the case. Kaky had moved to Swansea during this time. Janine McKinney, chief crown prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: “This has been a landmark prosecution, not just because it is the first conviction of its kind, but for the message it sends to people who may be vulnerable to this horrific form of abuse.” NHS figures showed hospital and GP attendances about FGM in England rose by 15% in the 2023-24 financial year. The defence barrister Geraldine Kelly told the court Kaky’s academic accomplishments as a PhD student at the University of Nottingham were “respected” and “impressive”, and that losing his job was “in itself a form of punishment”. The University of Nottingham said Kaky was a visiting scholar when the offences came to light. A spokesperson said: “There is no place for such barbaric offences in our society and our thoughts are with those who have been affected by these actions. Following the arrest of Emad Kaky, the university ended its association with him and withdrew the invitation to him as a visiting academic.”