Lahore HC Upholds Death Sentence of Pakistani Men Who Raped French Woman in Front of Her Three Children

IN A FIRM STANCE, a Pakistani court on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, upheld the death French woman in front of her three children. The Lahore High Court rejected the plea filed by the two accsued — Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali — that challenged a 2021 court verdict that held them guilty on charges of kidnapping, gang-rape, robbery, and offences related to terrorism. Accordingly, the two convicts will face execution.

A court official, as quoted by PTI, stated: “The Lahore High Court (LHC) today dismissed appeals of the two men convicted in infamous rape case of the French woman of Pakistani-origin in 2020 in Lahore and upheld the trial court’s verdict of awarding them death sentences.”

What was the rape case?

Back in 2019, on September 9, a French woman of Pakistani origin was traveling on the  Sialkot-Lahore Motorway near Lahore with her three children, when her vehicle ran out of fuel late in the evening. The stranded family was left waiting for assistance. The woman stayed inside the car with her children, with doors and windows shut, for fear of her safety.

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The two attackers — Abid and Shafqat — arrived at the scene, smashed the car’s windows, and dragged the woman out of her vehicle. She was raped by the perpetrators at gunpoint in front of her three children. Before fleeing the scene, the pair robbed the women of cash, cards, and jewelry. 

A FIR was registered at the Gujjarpura Police Station in relation to this incident under multiple sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The woman, though traumatized by the whole ordeal, was able to relay a description of her attackers to the police. Authorities eventually nabbed the two accused using mobile phone data, and their DNA matched to the evidence found at the crime scene. 

Widespread protests ensued after the incident. Further controversy erupted after the then Lahore police chief, Umer Sheikh, questioned why the woman was travelling late at night, and suggested she should have chosen a different route.

See also: Dalit Woman Alleges Rape, Forced Conversion and Years of Confinement in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar

During legal proceedings, the victim identified both men as her attackers. One of the accused, Shafqat Ali, also reportedly confessed to the act in front of a magistrate. Based upon the incriminatory evidence found by the investigators and the victim’s testimony, the pair was convicted in March 2021. They received death sentences along with life imprisonment and additional jail terms.

In their appeal at the Lahore High Court, the convicts argued that the prosecution’s case had several weaknesses and inconsistencies. Their lawyers claimed the evidence was unreliable and urged the court to overturn the convictions. Prosecutors, however, asserted that the case was supported by strong evidence and that the trial court had carefully examined all material before convicting the two men in 2021. According to Pakistani media outlet Dawn, the judges agreed with the prosecution’s arguments and dismissed the appeals.

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