LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentences of two men convicted of raping a French woman at gunpoint in front of her three children on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway in 2020, dismissing their appeals against the trial court’s verdict.
The case sparked nationwide outrage in Pakistan after the assault occurred in September 2020, leading to widespread protests and calls for justice. Public anger was further fueled by remarks from senior police officials that were widely criticised as victim-blaming.
Demonstrators had demanded the removal of police official Omar Sheikh, who drew condemnation after suggesting that the victim should not have been travelling alone at night, stating that “our society does not permit women to be out late at night alone.”
A court official confirmed that the appeals filed by the two convicts had been rejected.
“The Lahore High Court today dismissed appeals of the two men convicted in the infamous rape case of the French woman of Pakistani origin in 2020 in Lahore and upheld the trial court’s verdict of awarding them death sentences,” the official said.
According to investigators, the 32-year-old mother was travelling with her three children when her vehicle ran out of fuel near Lahore. Two armed men allegedly forced their way into the car, robbed the family, and took the woman to a nearby field, where she was raped at gunpoint in front of her children.
In March 2021, a Lahore anti-terrorism court sentenced the two convicts, Abid Ali and Shafqat Ali, to death. In addition to the capital punishment, the court imposed life imprisonment and several other prison terms.
Both men challenged the verdict later in 2021, seeking to overturn their convictions and sentences.
The appeals were heard by a two-judge bench comprising Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Tariq Mehmood Bajwa, which upheld the original judgment after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence.
The ruling marks the latest development in one of Pakistan’s most high-profile criminal cases, which became a focal point in the country’s debate over women’s safety, policing, and accountability in handling sexual violence cases.
