A Lahore High Court division bench dismissed the appeals of Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga on Wednesday, upholding the death sentences and other punishments handed down in the 2020 Sialkot-Lahore Motorway gang rape case.
The two men had challenged their convictions and sentences before the high court after an anti-terrorism court found them guilty in March 2021.
The bench agreed with the prosecution that the evidence against the convicts was overwhelming and that the trial court's judgment contained no flaws.
What sentences did the convicts receive and what did they challenge?
The anti-terrorism court had sentenced both men to death for the rape offence, along with life imprisonment and additional jail terms on related charges, including kidnapping, robbery, and terrorism.
Malhi and Bagga had pleaded not guilty at trial and subsequently challenged all sentences in their appeals to the high court. The LHC dismissed those appeals in full on Wednesday.
What happened in the 2020 motorway gang rape case?
The crime took place in September 2020 when a French-Pakistani woman travelling on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway ran out of fuel. Malhi and Bagga dragged her out of her car and sexually assaulted her in front of her three minor children.
The case triggered nationwide outrage and prompted widespread debate about women's safety and policing on Pakistan's motorways.
How were the suspects identified and convicted?
Police traced the suspects using DNA samples from the forensic science agency, which matched blood stains found at the crime scene.
The victim identified both suspects at a jail identification parade conducted before a judicial magistrate. Police also recovered a pistol, a club, and the suspects' mobile phones, while the investigation officer reported that both men had confessed to the crime.
The prosecution presented 53 witnesses, including the complainant herself and the person who first reported the incident on a police helpline. Malhi had snatched over PKR 100,000 from the victim along with gold bangles and ATM cards.
The cash was traced as having been spent during his flight from the police, though the bangles and cards were not recovered. The case was registered under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
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