Pakistani men who gang-raped French woman in front of her children to be sentenced to death
Two Pakistani men who gang-raped a French woman in front of her three children will be sentenced to death.
The two men, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, have been convicted of dragging the woman from her car and raping her at gunpoint on the side of a highway near Lahore, Pakistan.
Shafqat Ali will be sentenced to death for gang-raping a French woman in front of her children.
Abid Malhi will also be hanged for gang rape, kidnapping, robbery and terrorism.
The men were convicted and sentenced to death in March 2021 for gang rape, kidnapping, robbery and terrorism.
Both defendants appealed the verdict, but a judge rejected their appeal on Wednesday, saying there was strong and irrefutable evidence against them.
The horrific attack took place on September 9, 2020, when the French-Pakistani woman was stranded on a highway in Lahore after her car ran out of fuel.
She and her three children remained inside the car, locked the doors, and waited for help.
But the attackers broke the car window and dragged her out.
There, Malhi and Ali held her at gunpoint and gang-raped her.
They also stole her bank cards, cash, and jewelry before fleeing the scene.
Despite being severely traumatized, the victim was able to provide the police with the details of her attackers.
Police then used cellphone data to track down the suspects.
The two men were arrested a few days later and their DNA was matched with evidence from the crime scene.
The victim was able to identify her attackers, and one of the suspects (Ali) even confessed to the crime in front of a judge.
The case sparked a fierce backlash on social media.
Then, widespread protests began in Pakistan, when a senior police official made statements that seemed to indicate that the victim was to blame for the incident.
He asked the media why the woman was out at night and why she had traveled that route.
The remarks sparked public outrage, with many calling it “victim blaming.”
After the incident, human rights activists called on the government to impose harsher penalties on the rapists.
Many called for the public execution of the perpetrators.
In Pakistan, all executions are carried out by hanging, but not all of them are public.
By Abdul Haq Hamidi
Pakistani men who gang-raped French woman in front of her children to be sentenced to death
