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| Four men convicted in 2012 Indian gang rape and murder case to be executed Jan. 22 | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| NEW DELHI — Four men convicted in an infamous 2012 gang rape and murder in Delhi will be executed by hanging on Jan. 22, a court said Tuesday. | |
| The execution would be the first since 2015 in India, where capital punishment is rare, and comes amid a nationwide furor over how to tackle pervasive violence against women. | The execution would be the first since 2015 in India, where capital punishment is rare, and comes amid a nationwide furor over how to tackle pervasive violence against women. |
| The four men were convicted of brutally raping a 23-year-old woman after she and a male friend boarded a private bus on their way home from seeing a movie. The assailants dumped her bleeding body on a road, and she clung to life for two more weeks before dying in a hospital of massive internal injuries. | The four men were convicted of brutally raping a 23-year-old woman after she and a male friend boarded a private bus on their way home from seeing a movie. The assailants dumped her bleeding body on a road, and she clung to life for two more weeks before dying in a hospital of massive internal injuries. |
| The woman is known here as “Nirbhaya,” or “fearless one,” because Indian courts prohibit the disclosure of the names of sexual assault victims. Her death was a turning point, sparking huge protests that resulted in significant changes to the law with the aim of reducing sexual violence. | The woman is known here as “Nirbhaya,” or “fearless one,” because Indian courts prohibit the disclosure of the names of sexual assault victims. Her death was a turning point, sparking huge protests that resulted in significant changes to the law with the aim of reducing sexual violence. |
| Indian authorities promised swift justice in the case, and four men were convicted and sentenced to death in 2013. A fifth assailant died in prison, and the sixth was a juvenile offender who served a short sentence. The woman’s family has waited ever since to see the men punished. India’s Supreme Court twice upheld the death penalty in the case. | |
| In India, it’s not easy to report on rape | In India, it’s not easy to report on rape |
| Asha Devi, the victim’s mother, thanked the court after it issued the death warrants Tuesday, saying the step was late but welcome. “My daughter will get justice,” she said. “This hanging will restore the faith of the country’s women.” | |
| Badrinath Singh, the father of the young woman, said in an interview with The Washington Post that he was “extremely happy” with the court’s decision, and it would have a deterrent effect. “One thing is sure, when these four men are hanged at the same place, it will create fear in such beasts,” he told reporters. | |
| Lawyers for the convicted men can file a last appeal for clemency with India’s president, but experts think that such a petition would fail. | |
| Even as India has instituted harsher sentences for rape, the country has watched with horror as gruesome, headline-grabbing crimes against women and girls have continued. Last month, a young veterinarian was raped and killed in Hyderabad in circumstances that recalled the Nirbhaya case. | Even as India has instituted harsher sentences for rape, the country has watched with horror as gruesome, headline-grabbing crimes against women and girls have continued. Last month, a young veterinarian was raped and killed in Hyderabad in circumstances that recalled the Nirbhaya case. |
| Four suspects were arrested and allegedly confessed to the crime, according to police documents. But just days later, they were fatally shot while in police custody. Some in India celebrated their deaths as fitting punishment, while others decried the shootings as a clear-cut case of extrajudicial killing. | Four suspects were arrested and allegedly confessed to the crime, according to police documents. But just days later, they were fatally shot while in police custody. Some in India celebrated their deaths as fitting punishment, while others decried the shootings as a clear-cut case of extrajudicial killing. |
| The scheduled executions in the Nirbhaya case would mark a watershed. The last execution in a rape and murder case was in 2004. Since then, authorities have carried out only three other death sentences, all in terrorism cases. The last one was in 2015. | The scheduled executions in the Nirbhaya case would mark a watershed. The last execution in a rape and murder case was in 2004. Since then, authorities have carried out only three other death sentences, all in terrorism cases. The last one was in 2015. |
| Anup Surendranath, an expert on the death penalty at the National Law University in Delhi, said the court violated the law by issuing a death warrant in the Nirbhaya case before the men had made a final plea for mercy. “This impatience with procedural protections is cause for serious concern,” he said. | |
| Overall, “India has struck the right balance,” said K.T.S. Tulsi, a senior lawyer practicing at the country’s Supreme Court. “This was the rarest of rare cases where the conduct of these accused was so inhuman [that the] . . . death penalty is the right decision.” | Overall, “India has struck the right balance,” said K.T.S. Tulsi, a senior lawyer practicing at the country’s Supreme Court. “This was the rarest of rare cases where the conduct of these accused was so inhuman [that the] . . . death penalty is the right decision.” |
| About 33,000 rapes were reported in India in 2017, according to the most recent national crime statistics (about 100,000 rapes were reported in the United States in 2017). Advocates say that India’s official figures understate the scope of the problem, since the vast majority of victims never approach the authorities. | About 33,000 rapes were reported in India in 2017, according to the most recent national crime statistics (about 100,000 rapes were reported in the United States in 2017). Advocates say that India’s official figures understate the scope of the problem, since the vast majority of victims never approach the authorities. |
| Tania Dutta contributed to this report. | Tania Dutta contributed to this report. |
| India’s Supreme Court reaffirms death penalty for ‘diabolical’ assailants in 2012 fatal gang rape | India’s Supreme Court reaffirms death penalty for ‘diabolical’ assailants in 2012 fatal gang rape |
| India shaken by rape and killing of veterinarian on her way home | India shaken by rape and killing of veterinarian on her way home |
| Suspects in rape and murder case that shocked India are shot and killed by police | Suspects in rape and murder case that shocked India are shot and killed by police |
| Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world | Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world |
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