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CNN Live At Daybreak

Woman Reportedly Raped by Council Testifies in Pakistan

Aired August 02, 2002 - 06:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And in Pakistan, a woman claiming she was raped as punishment by her tribal council is testifying in court. The accusations of gang rape have sent shockwaves across Pakistan and drawn worldwide condemnation.

CNN Islamabad bureau chief Ash-Har Quraishi joins us live via video phone with the latest -- Ash-Har.

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Anderson.

That's right, the victim in this case, the alleged victim, Oksarin Bebe (ph), was expected to appear in court, in anti-terrorism court in central Pakistan in the Punjab province today to face the 14 men accused in this case.

Now, there are four men accused of the actual gang rape and also 10 others that she insisted be put on this charge sheet for being a part of this tribal council that had actually recommended the gang rape as a form of punishment for something that her brother had done against the other clans.

So what seems to be coming out from the defense and the prosecution in this case is that this is a feud between two clans, both accusing each other of gang raping one member of their family.

Now, right now prosecutors and defense are in that anti-terrorism court, which is closed to the public. Only close family members are allowed inside the court during the proceedings. We expect her to face those 14 men today. Also, they've had witnesses this week that have revealed some shocking things.

Her brother claimed that he was also assaulted by these four men and that this was a cover-up that was used by the tribal council so that they may be able to get these clan members off.

Now, just to give you an idea of the cases in Pakistan, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, they estimate that a woman is raped every two hours in the country and that few of these cases are reported because of the nature of these crimes and the power usually wielded by those committing the crimes.

But right now the supreme court in Pakistan has said that they would like this wrapped up within two weeks. That's something the prosecution says that they're confident that will happen -- Anderson. COOPER: Ash-Har, I have a question for you. This has obviously been a big story around the world. How big a story is it in Pakistan itself?

QURAISHI: It's created quite a bit of outrage here in Pakistan. It's something that human rights organizations aren't very happy with. They say that they would like these kinds of cases to come to light and that the media is doing the job that the government should be doing in bringing these cases to light, because so many of them go unreported.

This case is being attributed to a journalist, a local correspondent who brought this to light after hearing a sermon about the case and it has been followed very closely in the newspapers here in Pakistan -- Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Ash-Har Quraishi, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

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