Presser by woman gang raped on village council orders

Описание: (17 Mar 2005)
1. Exterior shot of the offices for the Parliamentarians Commission for Human Rights and the news conference venue
2. Gang rape victim Mukhtar Mai sits down at news conference
3. Mid of cameramen at news conference
4. SOUNDBITE: (Seraiki) Mukhtar Mai, rape victim:
"I would like to appeal to the President of Pakistan that they (the men accused of attacking her) are kept under arrest until the decision of the Supreme Court is made."
5. Wide of news conference
6. Mai arriving at Interior Ministry with supporters
7. Various of Mai's meeting with Interior Minister of Pakistan, Aftab Khan Sherpao
8. SOUNDBITE: (Urdu/English) Aftab Khan Sherpao, Interior Minister of Pakistan:
"The evidence given (at the first court case held in Multan, Punjab) was not correct. Even the names and the father's names were entered wrong. This is pure negligence."
9. Various of meeting with Interior Minister
10. Mai and supporters outside meeting
11. Exterior Supreme Court of Pakistan
12. Various of barristers entering court

STORYLINE:

A Pakistani woman who was gang-raped on orders from a village council appealed to President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday to help her procure justice.

Mukhtar Mai spoke in Islamabad just two days after four of those accused of attacking her were ordered released on bail while an appeal of their death sentences to the Supreme Court is pending.

Mai's case has become a political issue in this conservative Islamic country.

Thousands of Pakistani women rallied in Multan -- in the eastern Punjab province -- last week demanding justice and protection for Mai, who said she fears the men would seek revenge if they were released.

Mai appealed to President Musharraf to help ensure the men remain under detention until an appeal is heard by the Supreme Court.

Six men were convicted in August 2002 of the rape, allegedly perpetrated to punish her family after her brother had an illicit affair with a woman from another family.

Mai has said she fears for her life.

Later on Thursday, Mai met with the Pakistani Interior Ministry who told her that there had been "pure negligence" in the original case, and that the conduct of the prosecution would be investigated.

The Supreme Court stepped in on Monday after a regional court threw out the death sentences on March 3rd -- only to see them reinstated days later by the country's top Islamic court.

Mai, who has earned praise for her courage to come forward after the attack, said she wants her attackers to pay the ultimate price for their crimes.

"To me, justice means those who raped me should die by hanging," she told The Associated Press.

Following the release of four of the attackers, authorities placed two dozen police around Mai's home in the village of Meerwala, 350 miles (565 kilometres) southwest of Islamabad, where the rape occurred.

She has stayed in the village and opened up a school that has drawn tens of thousands of dollars in international aid.

The Supreme Court has given parties a week to submit paperwork, but there is no indication of when it might rule in the case.

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