A man convicted in the kidnap and rape of a 12-year-old Christian girl in Pakistan has been sentenced to life in prison.
In addition, two fines were ordered.
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The Muslim man — Ahmed Raza — was sentenced to 10 years of what Christian Daily International-Morning Star News called “rigorous imprisonment.”
The court ordered the two sentences to be served concurrently, the news outlet stated.
Hanif Hameed, a Christian attorney who represented the girl, said Raza and three others abducted her at gunpoint in September 2023, then raped and tortured her during a month-long captivity. They also forced her to convert to Islam, and, to cover their crime, forged a certificate to claim Raza and the girl were married.
Still at large
Hameed said police rescued the girl in October 2023 and arrested Raza. The accomplices, however, escaped and remain at large.
In July 2024, a family court voided the marriage, Hameed told Christian Daily-Morning Star.
While he is grateful for the life sentence, he expressed disappointment that the judge ignored the matter of forced conversion and fake marriage. Hameed noted the judge also rejected the matter of gang-rape, even though the girl provided the perpetrators’ names.
World Watch
Pakistan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the 50 places most difficult to be a Christian.
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