Elon Musk lauds Pakistan, says West should emulate its justice system
Billionaire reacts after court upholds death sentences in 2020 motorway rape case
DUBAI: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has praised Pakistan’s judiciary after the Lahore High Court upheld the death sentences of two men convicted in the 2020 motorway gang-rape case that shocked the country and triggered widespread debate over women’s safety.
Reacting to the ruling on X, Musk said the decision demonstrated the kind of justice he believes Western countries should adopt for serious crimes.
“Bravo Pakistan! This is what we should be doing in the West,” Musk wrote after the court dismissed the convicts’ appeals and upheld the punishments imposed by a trial court.
The ruling came from a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa, which rejected the appeals filed by Abid Malhi and Shafqat Baga and maintained all sentences awarded by an anti-terrorism court, Geo News reported.
The case stems from a brutal attack on a French woman travelling with her children on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway in September 2020. After her vehicle broke down, she was assaulted by armed men in an incident that sparked nationwide outrage and renewed scrutiny of public safety and law enforcement.
The Lahore High Court upheld the death sentences awarded to both men for rape. It also maintained other punishments handed down by the trial court, including prison terms and fines linked to robbery, abduction and other offences.
During the hearing, lawyers representing the convicts argued that the trial court had failed to properly assess the facts and requested that the convictions be overturned.
Major test
Prosecutor Raheela Shahid opposed the appeals, arguing that the original verdict was based on strong evidence and was legally sound. The court ultimately agreed with the prosecution and dismissed the appeals.
Punjab Prosecutor General Farhad Ali Shah said the case had been a major test for the criminal justice system and credited investigators and prosecutors for securing the convictions.
According to prosecutors, the investigation relied on the victim’s identification of the suspects, DNA evidence linking one accused to the crime scene and mobile phone records that helped investigators track the second suspect.
An FIR was registered at Lahore’s Gujjarpura Police Station on September 9, 2020. In March 2021, an anti-terrorism court sentenced both men to death for rape.
In addition to the death penalty, the court imposed 14-year prison terms and fines of Rs250,000 each for robbery. The convicts were also sentenced to life imprisonment for abducting the victim’s children and five years in prison for damaging her vehicle.
The Lahore High Court’s decision brings the high-profile case a step closer to conclusion, although further legal options may remain available to the convicts under Pakistan’s judicial system.
