India court restores life prison sentences for 11 Hindu men who raped a Muslim woman in 2002 riots

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court has restored life prison sentences for 11 Hindu men who raped a Muslim woman during deadly religious rioting two decades ago. The Supreme Court in its judgement Monday asked the released convicts to surrender to authorities within two weeks. The men were convicted in 2008 of gang raping a pregnant woman during deadly communal violence in 2002 in western Gujarat state. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in some of the worst religious riots India has experienced. The men were released in 2022 after serving 14 years in prison. The policy that allowed their release has since been changed for certain crimes including rape and murder.