In Bangladesh, rapists now face the death penalty
Feminist activists demonstrate against violence against women on October 9, 2020 in Dhaka.
AP Photo / Mahmud Hossain Opu
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Bangladesh introduces the death penalty for perpetrators of sex crimes.
An emergency measure taken by the authorities in the wake of a collective aggression that has moved public opinion and provoked outrage across the country.
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It all started with a video posted on social media showing the gang rape of a young woman in Noakhali district in southern Bangladesh.
The attackers entered her home, beat her husband, tied him up and then filmed themselves torturing the victim.
This assault, made public a month after the events, caused a huge outburst of anger in Bangladesh.
Massive demonstrations by students, women, activists have been organized to demand justice and an end to impunity for perpetrators of sex crimes.
Faced with the scale of the mobilization, the head of the Bangladeshi government has just announced that an ordinance establishing the death penalty for rapists was being drafted.
It will take effect on Tuesday and could be applied very quickly since four men have been arrested in this case.
An extremely rare advance.
According to government data, barely 4% of sexual assault cases have gone to trial in the last 20 years and the number of convictions is close to zero.
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Bangladesh
Justice