LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday dismissed appeals filed by the two men convicted in the 2020 Sialkot-Lahore Motorway gang rape case against their sentences.
An anti-terrorism court had handed down death sentences besides life imprisonment and multiple jail terms to the two convicts, Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga, on March 20, 2021. They challenged their convictions on March 25, 2021.
The appeals contended that several infirmities created doubts about the prosecution’s version of the events and the trial court’s judgement was harsh and against the settled principles of law.
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa, issued the verdict on their appeals today after the prosecution concluded its arguments.
In his final arguments, the state prosecutor contended that the prosecution had overwhelming evidence against the convicts and requested the court to uphold their sentences. He said there was no flaw in the trial court’s decision.
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The country seethed with anger in September 2020 after the horrific gang rape of a French woman of Pakistani origin in front of her three children on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway. The convicts had dragged her out of her car after it ran out of fuel during late-night travel.
The Gujjarpura police registered a first information report (FIR) of the incident on September 9, 2020 under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
This verdict reflects the demand for swift and strict justice in cases of such heinous crimes against women and children.
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