Court Confirms 5 Death Sentences in Afghan Rape Case

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan appeals court confirmed death sentences on Monday against five of the seven defendants in a notorious robbery and rape case, despite their claims that their confessions were extracted through torture.

For the other two defendants, the court found insufficient evidence to justify the death penalty, so it reduced their sentences to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The seven men were accused of dressing in police uniforms and stopping a caravan of cars returning from a wedding in the Paghman district, less than half an hour’s drive from Kabul; robbing the occupants and raping four of the women by the roadside.

The Kabul police department was under enormous public pressure to solve the case, which prompted national outrage and revulsion. But women’s rights activists have noted that the outrage was less an expression of concern about the women’s welfare than about the perceived dishonor to the victims’ husbands.