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The elders of a village have sentenced a teenage girl for allegedly having an illicit relationship with her cousin after she accused him of raping her at gunpoint.
A teenager has been sentenced to death by stoning after she was accused of adultery because she said that she had been raped by her cousin.
The 19-year-old told a local tribal court that she was attacked at gunpoint in her family home in Rajanpur, Pakistan.
However, the elders decided that she had deliberately seduced her attacker and so sentenced her to death by stoning or for her to be sold off, according to the Hindustan Times.
Four of the tribal elders – including the alleged rapist’s father – are now being held for their involvement in the unofficial court, according to the Tribune after they ruled that the victim should be killed.
They decided that no action should be taken against the attacker.
She said that she was asleep with her family on Friday night when her cousin sneaked inside her house and raped her.
She could not scream for help because he held a gun to her.
According to Hindustimes, the incident happened on Friday in Rajanpur, a rural district about 400 kilometres from provincial capital Lahore.
Shumaila was said to have escaped from the village after she came to know of the panchayat’s decision and reported the matter to police.
The woman has denied having any illicit relationship with her cousin Khalil Ahmed and alleged that he raped her at gunpoint when she was sleeping at her house.
“I could not raise an alarm as Ahmed was holding a gun. But the panchayat refused to accept my statement and declared that I wilfully slept with him,” she told the police.
She said the panchayat did not take action against Ahmed.
Fearing for her life, she approached the police on Saturday.
“We have registered a FIR against the panchayat members and will take them into custody for declaring her kaari (liable to death either by stoning or else),” Hasnain said.
The SHO of Fazilpur Police Station, Qaisar Hasnain, said Shumaila’s father said in a statement that he was forced to accept the panchayat’s decision.
“Since the panchayat declared her liable to be killed he had to accept the decision as it was the tradition of his village,” he said.
The police have sent Shumaila to a government safe house for women in Rajanpur.
“Honour” killings and death sentences are usually sanctioned through the panchayat system in Pakistani villages, but they have no legal standing.
Kari often leads to honour killings to restore the reputation of the family.
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