Fierce protests when the eight -year -old rape victim dies

WARNING: This article contains details, some readers can find anguish

An eight -year -old boy who was raped in Bangladesh died of his wounds on Thursday, digging up fierce protests throughout the country.

The girl was raped while visiting her old sister’s house in the city of Magura at some point between the night of March 5 and the next morning, according to a case presented by her mother.

The 18 -year -old husband of the older sister, along with her parents and her brother, were arrested and put in preventive detention.

On Thursday night, after listening to news of the child’s death, an angry mafia descended in the house where it is alleged that the incident took place, burned.

The girl died around 13:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Thursday after suffering three cardiac arrests, according to a statement from the Public Relations Department between Government Services (ISPR).

“Although doctors managed to stabilize the condition twice, the heart could not restart after the third episode,” said the statement.

He had spent six days in critical condition at the Military Hospital combined in the capital of Dhaka, after being admitted on March 8.

“I thought my daughter would survive,” said his mother after the girl’s death, according to local media. “If she had succeeded, she would never have let her go anywhere alone.”

The girl’s body was taken back to Magura in an army helicopter, which landed at the local stadium around 18:00 for fierce protests.

Aiyub Ali, an officer in charge of the Magar Sadar Police Station, said the authorities fought to control the situation, according to the local news media The Daily Star.

Thousands of people gathered in the public square in Magura for the Namaz-E-Janaza of the girl, the Islamic funeral prayer, before it was buried at 19:30.

A funeral was also held in absence for the girl from the University of Dhaka, in the capital of the Nation, followed by a protest march and speeches of female students.

Many protesters demanded that the government accelerate justice for victims of rape and reform laws related to the safety of women and children.

The protesters also requested greater clarity about the legal definitions of what constitutes a violation in Bangladesh, which they said they were currently ambiguous.

It is expected that the judgment of the violation and murder case will begin in the next seven days, according to the legal advisor Asif Nazrul.

“The collection of DNA samples has been completed, we hope to obtain the report in the next five days,” Nazrul told a press conference at the Secretariat on Thursday, adding that the statements had already been taken from 12 to 13 people.

“If we can start the trial within seven days, our judges will be able to guarantee justice with maximum speed,” he added.

The violation of minors is punished with death in Bangladesh, According to a law that was approved in 2020.

The introduction of that law followed a series of cases of high profile sexual violence, including the brutal assault of gang to a 37 -year -old woman who was filmed and distributed in social networks.

Less than a week after the girl’s rape in Magura, media reports emerged from at least three violations of children of the same age in different parts of Bangladesh.

In some cases, the defendants were neighbors of the victim, while others were close relatives.

According to the statistics of the Law and the Arbitration Center, 3,438 cases of child violation have been presented in Bangladesh in the last eight years, and there have been many more victims of rape.

At least 539 of them are under six years old, and 933 have between the ages of seven and twelve.

The research has shown that in most cases, children are sexually abused or violated by people they know.