Bangladesh court jails 11 for gang rape

Bangladesh court jails 11 for gang rape

2011-05-05 02:51:42 GMT+7 (ICT)

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BNO NEWS) -- A court in Bangladesh on Wednesday sentenced 11 people to life imprisonment for gang raping a teenage Hindu girl in 2001 during post-election violence, Press Trust of India reported.

Judge Osman Haidar of the Women and Children Repression Control Tribunal delivered the verdict in a crowded courtroom since the rape of the teenage girl had sparked nationwide protests. Six of the convicts were in court, while the rest were convicted in their absence.

The judgement came weeks after a judicial commission submitted a report on the post-election violence which mainly targeted activists of the then opposition Awami League of Premier Sheikh Hasina. It said 355 people were killed and thousands injured, with minority Hindu community suffering the most.

The culprits were arrested until the Awami League government ordered the judicial investigation two years ago after returning to power in the 2008 general elections.

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