LHC Upholds Death Penalty in Motorway Rape Case
A two-judge bench said the prosecution proved its case and rejected claims that the trial court’s verdict was flawed.
- On Wednesday, a Lahore High Court division bench upheld the death sentences of Abid Ali and Shafqat Ali for the 2020 Sialkot-Lahore Motorway gang rape, dismissing their appeals against convictions.
- Attackers shattered the car window after the driver ran out of fuel near Lahore on September 9, 2020, dragging the French woman of Pakistan-origin outside to rape her at gunpoint in front of her three children.
- Detectives secured convictions using mobile phone location data and DNA samples; the appellate court rejected defence arguments of 'gaps' in the prosecution timeline based on overwhelming forensic evidence.
- Senior police official Umer Sheikh's remarks triggered nationwide protests, with activists describing his words as unapologetic 'victim-blaming' and demanding authorities hang the convicted men publicly.
- Entrepreneur Elon Reeve Musk hailed the ruling on X, writing, "This is the right sentence for such an action. Good for Pakistan," as activists press for legal reforms.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Pakistan Court Upholds Death Sentences for Two Men Convicted in 2020 Motorway Gang Rape of French-Pakistani Woman
The incident occurred in 2020. The 32-year-old victim, a woman of Pakistani origin holding French nationality, was traveling with her children when their car ran out of fuel. As she waited for help with the doors locked, the two armed men broke a window, dragged her out, and raped her at gunpoint.
Pakistan Is Tougher On Rapists Than Their Victim’s Western Country
A court ruled that two Pakistani men are now facing the death penalty following an assault on a woman visiting from France on September 9, 2020, a decision far harsher than would be made in the Western country the French-Pakistani woman now resides in. Although France abolished capital punishment 45 years ago, judges in Pakistan determined the verdict regardless of where the woman was from. The country is one of the harshest users of the death p…
Two Pakistani men, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, who gang-raped a French tourist six years ago, will be executed for their crimes. They were found guilty in March 2021. The court charged them with gang rape, kidnapping, robbery and terrorist crimes that took place on the Sialkot-Lahore highway. The convicts appealed the verdict, but their appeal was rejected. Read more: Slovenia on the radar of Israeli media because "usurpers" refused to land Isra…
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