Two men sentenced to death for sexually assaulting French tourist in front of her children

The 32-year-old victim had been travelling with her three children when her car ran out of gas, stranding them on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway

Published Jun 04, 2026  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  2 minute read

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against an alleged gang rape of a woman, in Karachi on September 18, 2020. Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP /Getty Images

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source

Article content

A Pakistani court upheld the death sentences of two men for sexually assaulting a French woman in front of her children.

Article content

Article content

Abid Ali Malhi and Shadqat Ali Bagga were accused of the horrific assault of the tourist on a busy roadway between Lahore and Sialkot in September 2020.

Both men appealed their conviction, with the defence arguing that there were gaps in prosecutors’ version of events and that the judge’s decision was unjust.

However, justices Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Tariq Mehmood Bajwa rejected their plea on Wednesday, after the prosecution presented overwhelming evidence against the accused, news outlet Dawn reported.

“The Lahore High Court today dismissed the appeals of the two men convicted in 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,” a court official said.

The night of the brutal attack

The 32-year-old victim had been travelling with her three children when her car ran out of gas, stranding them on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway after midnight on Sept. 9, 2020, investigators said.

Article content

She called her relatives in Gujranwala who set off to help her after advising her to call the motorway emergency numbers.

The woman had locked the doors while they waited for help, but the men broke the windows, dragged the mother and her kids out of the vehicle, and sexually assaulted her, then robbed her of money, her jewellery and bank cards before fleeing.

They were sentenced to death in March 2021 but moved to the Lahore High Court for reprieve later that year.

The victim was able to provide police with basic descriptions of her attackers, who were later tracked down via mobile phone data and arrested days after the traumatizing incident.

DNA samples taken from the crime scene matched the rapists.

The survivor identified the two men during a hearing, and Ali confessed to the crime before a magistrate.

Victim-blaming by top police official

The incident is one of many that have sparked outrage in Pakistan, with citizens calling for stronger legislation against rape and harsher punishment for rapists.

The public further seethed when Lahore’s police chief, Umer Sheikh, implied that the woman was partly to blame because she was driving alone at night “without the protection of a man,” while questioning why she failed to check her fuel levels before departing, per the BBC.

Thousands of people across Pakistan took part in protests, demanding justice and better protection of women in the country.

Pakistan has since established a new anti-rape law that offers faster trials in newly established special courts and tougher sentences.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content