Seven get death for gang rape in Afghanistan

A court in Afghanistan Sunday sentenced to death seven accused in a gang rape case that triggered protests in the capital, media reports said.

A group of women were raped and robbed of their belongings last month in Paghman district, just outside Kabul, while they were returning from a wedding along with their families, The Guardian reported.

Police said a group of armed men, some dressed in police uniform, stopped a convoy of cars in which the women were travelling, and raped four of them in a nearby field.

The women were also beaten and their jewellery and mobile phones stolen.

"This kind of gang rape is unprecedented in Kabul," city police chief General Zahir said in his testimony.

Judge Safihullah Mujadidi, in a trial televised nationwide Sunday, convicted the men of armed robbery and sexual assault.

"Based on criminal law, these individuals are sentenced to the severest punishment which is death sentence," the judge was quoted as saying.

The men can appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

The sexual assault led to public outrage in Kabul.