Man arrested after gang tortures, beats and rapes a trans woman as she pleaded them through tears to stop
(Envato Elements)
A man who is allegedly part of a gang that brutally beat, tortured and raped a trans woman, has been arrested by Chunian, Pakistan, police.
In the capital city of Punjab, startling video footage of the Sohana’s assault shuddered across social media. It showed the victim tied upside down, lithly hanging by a rope from the ceiling as the men violently beat her with sticks – she can be heard crying and pleading the men to stop.
Hours after the video went viral and drew denoumcnent from federal ministers, local law enforcement announced Thursday (24 December) have re-arrested a man who is allegedly a member of the gang.
The victim has been identifying members of the gang as police conduct a volley of raids, Geo News reported.
Tortured trans woman ‘assured justice’ by top Pakistan police officials
Sohana explained, according a first information report filed to the Chunian City Police Station, that she had been asked to dance at a “wedding” two months ago. Yet, when she arrived, the men pounced, tying her up and gang-raped her for three days.
She said that police first threw out her case after initially registering it, but reopened it after footage provided a plank of evidence for he case, federal minister for human rights Shireen Mazari announced on Twitter.
She confirmed her office had taken note of the horrifying incident, adding that the district police officer met with the victim Wednesday (23 December) and “assured [her] of justice.”
The main complaint of the first information report, Mazari said, alleged she had been “tortured” by the men. “The victim put in a fresh complain,” she continued.
Sohana’s case mirrors multiple other instances of trans women being targeted by ruthless gangs, their playbooks almost always the same – the women are pounced on, sometimes at gunpoint, and tortured and raped.
In September, two trans women attended a wedding only for armed men to storm the building, slaying one and injuring the other.
