Uproar over sexual assault in Bangladesh after video spreads online
Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing
A video of a woman being sexually assaulted has caused nationwide uproar in Bangladesh, after the clip was shared widely online.The woman, who has been interviewed by local media, says she was raped at her father's house last Thursday. The clip shows several people at the scene.Police have arrested five people, including the alleged rapist, and authorities have said they will investigate the case "with utmost seriousness".Protests broke out across the country over the weekend after the clip was circulated, and several human rights groups have demanded severe punishment for those involved.
The survivor was visiting her father's home in central Bangladesh's Cumilla district when a neighbour broke in and assaulted her, according to police.The woman, who is from a Hindu minority community, gave interviews to several local outlets saying the accused "entered the house with bad intentions and tortured her".Police have named the main suspect as 36-year-old Fazor Ali, adding that he was hospitalised after being beaten up by members of the public on the night of the incident. The man sustained injuries on his arms and legs which prevented him from showing up in court on Sunday, police said.The other four people were arrested for filming and circulating videos of the assault, police said.Local human rights groups are calling for a swift investigation, with some saying the incident is the latest in a series of cases of violence against women where justice was delayed or perpetrators were granted impunity."If a woman is not safe in her own home and identity, it represents a serious failure of the state and a breakdown in security," Ain O Salish Kendra, a national legal aid and human rights organisation, said in a statement on Sunday.The organisation further urged that "the state must send a clear and firm message that such barbarity has no place in this country".Another Dhaka-based group, Manusher Jonno Foundation, condemned those who filmed and distributed the clip, saying they inflicted a "second assault" on the victim.Bangladeshi authorities have said the case will be dealt with swiftly."Like ordinary citizens, we are also deeply shocked by the rape. Our home ministry has taken immediate action," the country's law adviser Asif Nazrul said in a media briefing on Sunday. "The prime accused, along with those involved in spreading photos of the incident, a highly irresponsible and criminal act, have all been arrested."Earlier this year, an eight-year-old child who was raped in Bangladesh died of her injuries, setting off fierce protests around the country.Many protesters at the time demanded that the government expedite justice for rape victims and reform laws related to women and children's safety.Protesters also called for greater clarity around the legal definitions of what constitutes rape in Bangladesh, which they said were currently ambiguous.
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