Execution for rapists, a mother in front of her two children on the side of a highway in Pakistan

A Lahore court on Saturday sentenced to death two men convicted of raping a woman on a highway in Pakistan last year, in an incident that sparked nationwide protests and calls for tougher penalties.

The two men were convicted of rape, kidnapping, theft and terrorism, according to the verdict issued by a judge in the eastern city of Lahore.

The woman was raped on the side of a highway in eastern Punjab province, after her car ran out of fuel while she was driving with her two children last September.

The accident caused demonstrators to take to the streets to demand legal reforms and intensified efforts to protect women and children after a series of serious cases.

According to a Karachi-based rape group, only fewer than three percent of cases of sexual assault or rape are convicted in Pakistan.

In December, Pakistan passed a new law to combat rape and set up special courts in an effort to speed up prosecutions and create a national registry for sex offenders.

The two convicted men were also sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine, and the confiscation of their property, Rauf Watto, the public prosecutor in this case, told Reuters.

"The survivor got to know the convicts twice during the identification presentation in prison and during the recording of her statement before the judge," said Waqar Bhati, a second public prosecutor.

Rights activists called for an end to the culture of holding victims accountable for their sexual assault.

After the September rape, a senior police officer asked publicly why the woman drove her car with her children without a companion.

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