Delhi gang rape: Four sentenced to death
The four men had pleaded not guilty and are expected to appeal
An
Indian court has sentenced four men to death for the gang rape and
murder of a student in the capital Delhi, a case which led to violent
protests across India and new laws against rape.
Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta were found guilty on all counts earlier this week.
Judge Yogesh Khanna said the case fell in the "rarest of rare category", rejecting pleas for a lighter sentence.
The woman, 23, was attacked on a bus in December and died two weeks later.
'Justice delivered'
At the scene
Sanjoy Majumder
BBC News, Delhi
Throughout the day the crowd built up steadily outside the court.
Unprecedented security was in place with the road to the
court barricaded by police. Inside riot police took up positions as the
lawyers were escorted in.
As Judge Yogesh Khanna read out the sentence one of the defendants broke down.
As news of the sentence was relayed outside, the crowd broke
into a cheer. "Justice, justice!" they chanted. Others called for the
juvenile to be hanged as well.
The parents of the victim - who were present in the courtroom
- said they were satisfied with the verdict and justice had been
served.
On Friday, Judge Khanna said the
attack "shocked the collective conscience" of India, and that "courts
cannot turn a blind eye" to such crimes.
"This case definitely falls in the rarest of rare categories and warrants the exemplary punishment of death," he added.
The men were convicted to death by hanging, and one of them, Vinay Sharma, broke down in tears as the verdict was announced.
The father of the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the family was satisfied with the ruling.
"We are very happy. Justice has been delivered," he said in the courtroom, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Earlier, protesters outside the court had demanded that the four men should be hanged.
As they were escorted to the courtroom, the four men shouted to the crowd: "Brothers, save us!"
Demonstrators cheered at the announcement of the death sentences
They all deny the charges and can still appeal against the
verdict to the Supreme Court and also ask the president for clemency - a
process that could take years.
“Start Quote
The horrific crime triggered a firestorm of protest in the country like no other incident in the recent past”
The defence lawyers argued during
the trial that their clients had been tortured and some of their
confessions - later retracted - had been coerced.
There was unprecedented police security in Delhi on Friday.
The road to the court was barricaded by police, and inside
riot police took up positions as the lawyers were escorted in, the BBC's
Sanjoy Majumder in the Indian capital reports.
'Quick-fix' solution
In August, a teenager who was found guilty of taking part in
the rape was sentenced to three years in a reform facility, the maximum
term possible because the crime was committed when he was 17. He also
denied all the charges.
Another suspect, Ram Singh, was found dead in his cell in
March. Prison officials said they believed he hanged himself but his
family allege he was murdered.
Case timeline
16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus
17 December: Bus driver Ram Singh and three others arrested
21-22 December: Two more arrests, including a minor
29 December: Victim dies in Singapore hospital
21 January: Trial of five of the accused begins in special fast-track court - they later plead not guilty
28 February: Sixth accused charged in juvenile court
11 March: Ram Singh found dead in Tihar jail
31 August: Juvenile found guilty and given three-year term in reform facility
10 September: Four men found guilty by a Delhi court
13 September: Death penalty verdicts issued
The December attack sparked a national debate on the treatment of women.
Tough new laws were introduced in March which allowed the
death penalty - carried out very rarely in India - to be handed down in
the most serious cases of rape.
Reacting to Friday's verdict, human rights groups said the
death penalties would not end violence against women in India and that
far-reaching reforms were needed to tackle the endemic problem.
"Sending these four men to the gallows will accomplish
nothing except short-term revenge," said Tara Rao, Director of Amnesty
International India.
"While the widespread anger over this case is understandable,
authorities must avoid using the death penalty as a 'quick-fix'
solution."
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch's South Asia director Meenakshi
Ganguly told the BBC: "The punishment of perpetrators is important but
equally working together as a society to keep women safe is much, much
more important."
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