Lahore court extends pre-arrest bail of female suspect in Azeri woman rape case

On Monday, a Lahore sessions court extended the interim pre-arrest bail of a 20-year-old Azerbaijani woman accused of facilitating the gang-rape of another female national. The victim, who had travelled to Pakistan for business, alleged that three men raped her on September 25-26 in a rented flat near Raiwind. She had approached two women for assistance before the incident.

One of them, initially granted a three-day physical remand and later sent to jail for 14 days, was granted pre-arrest bail until October 5. The victim, however, secured her own bail extension to October 13. The judge questioned the completeness of the investigation, and a police official stated that additional time was needed to complete it.

While the victim denied needing money or alcohol, she alleged that the first suspect demanded Rs20,000 to Rs30,000, which she refused to provide. Despite her refusal, the victim claims that the men raped her and took her belongings, including Rs200,000 and two mobile phones. This is the second such case of a foreign woman allegedly gang-raped in the Defence C police station area within the last four months.