Pakistanis who gang-raped tourist in front of children sentenced to death

Two Pakistani men who gang-raped a French tourist in front of her children have been sentenced to death.

The two men, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali were convicted of kidnapping, gang rape, robbery, and terrorism offences in March 2021 and were sentenced to death.

The two men who committed the attack on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway appealed the conviction, with their lawyers arguing the judge's decision was unjust and that there were gaps in the prosecution's version of events.

Two judges have now dismissed the appeal after the prosecution argued there was overwhelming evidence against the two men, according to English language Pakistani news outlet, Dawn.

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Malhi and Ali attacked the woman on September 9 after she and her three children were stranded on the road leading out of Lahore.

The two attackers broke the window of her car and dragged her outside where she was raped at gunpoint.

The men also stole money, jewellery and bank cards before they left the scene.

The woman gave a basic description of her two attackers to the police, who were tracked down via mobile phone data and arrested several days after the incident.

Both men were identified from DNA samples taken from the crime scene.

The victim also confirmed the identities of both men during a hearing, and Ali confessed to the crime in front of a magistrate.

The prosecution presented 53 witnesses in the case, including the victim and person who reported the incident on the police emergency helpline.

Social media was quick to condemn the attack and protests were held calling for the public hanging of both men.

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Widespread protests were held across Pakistan after a policeman questioned why the woman had been out late on her own.

Another senior police official in Lahore - Umer Sheikh - appeared to suggest the woman was partly to blame as he appeared in front of the media.

He questioned why she chose to not take a busier road, given she was alone with her young children, saying no one in Pakistan would "allow their sisters and daughters to travel alone so late".

He also said that the French woman "mistook that Pakistani society is just as safe" as her country of residence.

These remarks were publicly condemned by women in Pakistan and protests were held against his remarks.

Imran Khan - Pakistan's Prime Minister at the time - called for the most severe punishments to be given to rapists, adding: "Such brutality and bestiality cannot be allowed in any civilised society."

The decision to maintain the death penalty was made after activists called for harsher penalties for rapists.

Pakistan is among the harshest users of the death penalty, according to legal action group Justice Project Pakistan.

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