An Indian court has handed down sentences to six men over their involvement in the gang rape of a tourist from Switzerland this past March. The sentence for all six men was life in prison.
The woman, who is 39 and her husband had been attacked while the couple was camping in Madhya Pradesh state.
The six men, whose ages ranged from 22 to 30, were from a village near the rape scene.
The rape came only months after a woman from India died after being gang raped while a passenger on a bus, which sparked outrages and protests throughout the country.
Just days after the rape of the Swiss tourist, India’s parliament passed new laws that have stricter punishments for anyone found guilty of rape, including death.
The couple was cycling through India on a tour and was headed towards the Taj Mahal when assaulted. The six men robbed and assaulted the two in a densely forested area on March 15.
All six received life sentences, but one was only convicted of robbing and assaulting the couple, and not rape.
In the case of the gang rape on the bus, five men are currently standing trial and it is expected that a verdict will be handed down next week. One of the suspects was just 17 when the incident took place and if found guilty will spend just three years in a prison facility, one defendant was found dead in prison awaiting trial and the others could be handed the death penalty.
The victim of gang rape on the bus was a physiotherapy student who was with a male friend who was beaten as well. The man survived, but the woman suffered internal injuries and she died after being transferred to a Singapore hospital.
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