A Pakistani court has refused to spare two men convicted of gang-raping a French-Pakistani woman in front of her three children on a motorway near Lahore, paving the way for their execution after a five-year legal battle, according to Dawn.
A Lahore High Court division bench on Wednesday dismissed appeals filed by the two convicts, Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga, against their sentences.
What Is The Case About
The case dates back to 2020 when the convicts had gang-raped a French woman of Pakistani origin in front of her three children after dragging her out of her car, which had run short of fuel and stopped during her late-night travel on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway. The assailants also made away with cash, jewellery and bank cards before escaping from the scene, Dawn said.
Investigators said the victim, despite being severely traumatised, provided basic descriptions that assisted police in their search.
As per Dawn report, authorities later traced the suspects through mobile phone records and arrested them within days of the incident. Forensic analysis linked both men to the crime after DNA samples recovered from the scene matched their profiles.
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The country seethed with anger in September 2020 as details of the attack emerged, compounded by remarks from the then-city police chief that implied the rape survivor bore some responsibility for the assault, Dawn reported.
The Investigation And Verdict
The Gujjarpura police registered a first information report of the incident on September 9, 2020, under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, the report further said.
An anti-terrorism court had handed down death sentences besides life imprisonment and multiple jail terms to the two men on March 20, 2021.
The convicts then challenged their convictions on March 25, 2021, contending that several infirmities created doubts about the prosecution's version of events and that the trial court's judgement was harsh and against the settled principles of law.
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A two-judge bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa issued the verdict after the prosecution concluded its arguments.
The state prosecutor contended that the prosecution had overwhelming evidence against the convicts and requested the court to uphold their sentences, saying there was no flaw in the trial court's decision.
The dismissal of the appeals means the death sentences handed down by the anti-terrorism court now stand.
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