Men who gang-raped French mother at gunpoint in front of her children to be executed

Two Pakistani men who gang-raped a French woman at gunpoint in front of her three children on a motorway near Lahore have had their death sentences upheld after a judge dismissed their appeals.

Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali were convicted of gang rape, kidnapping, robbery and terrorism in March 2021 following the attack on 9 September 2020.

On Wednesday, a judge found no grounds to interfere with either conviction, concluding that the case against both men had been proved beyond doubt, and both now face execution.

What happened to the French woman raped near Lahore?

The woman, who held French-Pakistani dual heritage and had made her home in France with her children, found herself stranded on the motorway that night after her car ran dry of fuel, reports The Sun. With her three young children beside her, she locked the car and waited inside for assistance to arrive.

The two men forced their way in by smashing a window, pulled the woman from the car and subjected her to a sustained attack at gunpoint, before taking her bank cards, cash and jewellery and leaving.

In the immediate aftermath, and despite what she had endured, the woman found the presence of mind to give officers detailed descriptions of both men.

Officers traced the pair using mobile phone data, and both were arrested within days. DNA evidence from the crime scene matched the pair, the survivor identified them directly, and Ali confessed to the attack before a magistrate.

What was the reaction to the rape and robbery attack in Pakistan?

The case prompted widespread outrage across social media and sparked mass protests in Pakistan, particularly after a senior police official appeared to suggest the victim bore some responsibility for what had happened to her.

At a press appearance the following day, the officer cast doubt on the victim’s own conduct, asking why she had been travelling at night and suggesting she bore some responsibility for having used that stretch of road. The comments were widely condemned as victim blaming.

The case energised human rights groups, who intensified their calls on the government to strengthen the legal penalties for sexual violence, while sections of the public demanded the men face a public execution. All executions in Pakistan are carried out by hanging, though public executions are not standard practice.