Pakistan court acquits suspects in high-profile rape case

Mukhtaran Mai

MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani victim of a village council-sanctioned gang-rape, who became a symbol of the country's oppressed women, said on Thursday her life was in danger after the Supreme Court acquitted 13 men accused of the crime. Mukhtaran Mai was attacked on the orders of a village council in 2002 as a punishment because her brother -- who was 12 at the time -- was judged to have offended the honour of a powerful clan by allegedly having an affair with one of its women. Mai was an illiterate villager at the time but she defied taboos and shot to global fame by speaking out about her ordeal and taking her attackers to court. Mai had accused 14 men of being involved in raping her and in 2002, a court sentenced six of them to death while acquitting the others citing a lack of evidence. But in an appeal, the Lahore High Court not only upheld the eight acquittals but also overturned five of the six convictions. The death penalty for the sixth man, Abdul Khaliq, was commuted to life in prison. Mai appealed to the Supreme Court in 2005 but it rejected her appeal on Thursday, said Gohar Ali Shah, a lawyer for Mai. "I'm disappointed. Why was I made to wait for five years if this decision was to be given?" a sobbing Mai told Reuters by telephone from her village in the eastern province of Punjab shortly after the court announced the decision. "The accused can kill me and my family when they return home," Mai said. Full Story>>

Pakistan court acquits suspects in high-profile rape case http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/pakistan-court-acquits-suspects-in-high-profile-rape-case