Six Indian men get life in jail over gang rape of Swiss woman, 39

GlobalPost
The World

Six Indian men accused in the gang-rape of a 39-year-old Swiss woman on a cycling vacation have been sentenced to life in jail.

The woman was raped and she and her husband robbed while the pair was camping in woodland in central Madhya Pradesh state, the BBC wrote.

More from GlobalPost: Swiss tourist gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh, India

According to the Independent, they had been heading north towards Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, but stopped near the village of Jhansi, setting up camp in scrubland about 700 yards from the road.

The men, aged between 22 and 30, all from a village near the campsite, tied up the man and raped the woman in his presence.

They then robbed the couple of cash, a laptop and cell phone.

There have been several high-profile rape cases in recent months, including the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a private bus in New Delhi that sparked outrage and protests nationwide.

In June, three men were arrested for the alleged gang rape of an American tourist near the resort town of Manali in India's northern state of Himachal Pradesh, NPR reported at the time.

After intense scrutiny of its legal system, India introduced a fast-track court to try such cases.

prosecutor Rajendra Tiwari was quoted as saying on Saturday:

"All the accused have been convicted and we are satisfied with the judgment."

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