Village Gang-Rape Sentences Are Upset by Court in Pakistan

A Call To Action
The New York Times
March 4, 2005

By SALMAN MASOOD

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 3 - Five men sentenced to death in 2002 for their role in a gang rape that was approved by a council in a remote Pakistani village had their convictions overturned Thursday. A sixth man convicted in the case, which set off worldwide outrage, had his death sentence commuted to life in prison, lawyers in the case said.

The circumstances of the rape, in June 2002 in Meerwala, in southern Punjab Province, brought demands for justice, and the government moved fast to bring the case to trial.

According to the prosecution, the Meerwala council ordered the gang rape of Mukhtar Mai, then 30, as punishment for the alleged illicit sexual relations of her brother Shakoor with a woman from the rival Mastoi tribe.

It was later revealed that he had been molested by Mastoi men who tried to conceal it by accusing him of illicit relations with a Mastoi woman. The Mastoi demanded revenge. That was delivered when the council approved the rape of Ms. Mukhtar.

Fourteen men were charged in the case and six of them - the leader of the village council, a council member and the four men suspected of carrying out the rape - were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2002. The convicted men appealed.

Two High Court judges, in their decision on Thursday, cited loopholes in the prosecution case and faulty police investigations, Pakistani news media reported.

Defense lawyers said the 2002 decision was "influenced by media hype and government pressure."

Ms. Mukhtar said she was disappointed at the latest decision, and blamed her lawyers.

The case gained international prominence because the assault was approved by the village council. The councils have no legal authority but are used in remote areas because of the poor reach of central authority. Public outcry led the government to place the case in an antiterrorism court and give Ms. Mukhtar police guards and $8,300 in compensation.

She has won praise for speaking out after the rape and for using the money to set up schools. Since the first trial, she said, she had faced death threats. She said Thursday's ruling intensified her fear. "We are afraid for our lives, but we will face whatever fate brings for us."

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company