LHC upholds death sentence of convicts in Lahore Motorway gang-rape case

The Lahore High Court has upheld the death sentences of two men convicted in Pakistan’s high-profile motorway gang-rape case, rejecting their appeals against the trial court’s verdict.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi dismissed the appeals filed by convicted offenders Abid Malhi and Shafqat Baga, maintaining the capital punishment awarded by the Anti-Terrorism Court.

The Anti-Terrorism Court had sentenced both men to death on March 20, 2021, following their conviction in the case. The convicts subsequently challenged the ruling before the Lahore High Court on March 25, 2021.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the bench rejected the appeals and upheld the trial court’s decision, marking a significant legal development in one of the most widely publicised criminal cases in Pakistan’s recent history.

The case dates back to September 2020, when a Pakistan-origin French woman was attacked on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway after her vehicle ran out of fuel during a late-night journey. According to investigators, the assailants dragged the woman from her car and sexually assaulted her in front of her three young children.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage and renewed calls for stronger action against sexual violence and improved safety measures for women.

According to police, investigators recovered a pistol, a club and mobile phones allegedly linked to the accused. Authorities said the suspects were traced through forensic evidence, including DNA samples that matched biological traces recovered from the crime scene.

The FIR was registered by Gujjarpura Police under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.