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Adnan Abidi / Reuters
Manohar Lal Sharma, center, lawyer for defendants accused in a gang rape, speaks outside a district court in New Delhi on Thursday.
The attorney representing three men charged with gang rape and murder in India told an interviewer that the woman who died and her male companion were to blame for the attack, which took place on a moving bus in New Delhi, according to a report published Thursday.
"Until today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady," Manohar Lal Sharma said, according to the Bloomberg report. "Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect."
The Dec. 16 attack left the 23-year-old physiotherapy student and her companion, who was also beaten, bleeding on a highway. The woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
Sharma, who is representing three of the five individuals charged in the attack, said Wednesday that his clients would plead not guilty to all charges in the case. Two other men have been charged in the attack, and a third was implicated but will be tried separately because he is a minor.
The lawyer's comments, which echoed those by some conservative religious and political figures, were likely to meet with more outrage from India’s urban middle class, which has spearheaded fierce protests against the government and police for their perceived failure to protect women from violence.
But they reflected a traditional chauvinism that is still held by many in the populous country.
"Guilt is not one-sided," Indian spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, told followers earlier in the week, adding that if the woman had pleaded with her six attackers in God's name, and told them she was of the "weaker sex," they would have relented, Reuters reported.
Mohan Bhagwat, a conservative pro-Hindu politician, weighed in with his view that rape occurs only in Indian cities, because women there adopt western lifestyles, but not in rural India.
But that view is contradicted by data, Reuters reported, citing the National Commission for Women, which has documented a pattern of gang rape and sexual humiliation of lower caste women in rural India.
Bhaskara Rao, who heads the New Delhi-based policy think tank said Bhagwat's comments reflected a traditional, rural society amid a country in transition.
"The people who are there in the police, judiciary, politics — they are old minds trying to deal with new problems," she said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related reports:
- Lawyer: Trio in India gang rape case will plead not guilty
- India gang rape case: Accused duo offer to testify against the others
- Father of rape victim: Hang the monsters who did this
- PhotoBlog: Amid outrage over gang rape, murder, calls for tougher punishment for sex crimes
Leave a Comment:
And with this cultural attitude, we out source to this country things like drugs we take?
Ok, so if someone shoots the lawyer and his clients it's their fault for standing in front of the gun?
is the lawyer mr. sharma a hindu, muslim or a budist or a christian or what? i need to know what colors such mind.
I get what you're saying, but what difference does it make? He's a scum sucking @!$%#-face who is blaming a raped and killed woman for what happened to her.
He is a lawyer...nuff said.
The whole Indian male dominated society is sick and they are exporting their sickness around the world in immigration. I can't think of a single reason why genocide in this country would not be acceptable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/sports/high-school-football-rape-case-unfolds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/gang-rape-charges-18-men-sparks-racial-tensions/story?id=13095476
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/girl-15-gang-raped-class-suit-article-1.123872
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/24/10841028-9-charged-in-alleged-gang-rape-of-14-year-old-girl-at-party-in-st-paul-minn?lite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Richmond_High_School_gang_rape
enough examples? how about statistics?
US NATIONAL RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT STATISTICS
According to a study conducted by the US National Victim Center, 1.3 women (age 18 and over) in the United States are forcibly raped each minute. That translates to 78 an hour, 1,871 per day, or 683,000 per year. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 6 out of 10 rape/sexual assault incidents are reported by victims to have occurred in their own home or at the home of a friend, relative, or neighbor.51% of the sexual assault cases studied in the Women’s Safety Project survey were committed against young women between 16 and 21 years old.According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Only 16% of rapes are ever reported to the police. In a survey of victims who did not report rape or attempted rape to the police, the following was found as to why no report was made: 43% thought nothing could be done, 27% felt it was a private matter, 12% were afraid of police response, and 12% felt it was not important enough.13.3% of college women indicated that they had been forced to have sex in a dating situation.In a national survey 27.7% of college women reported a sexual experience since the age of fourteen that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape, and 7.7% of college men reported perpetrating aggressive behavior which met the legal definition of rape.Among developmentally disabled adults, as many as 83% of the females and 32% of the males are the victims of sexual assault.Women with disabilities are raped and abused at a rate at least twice that of the general population of women.
It reminds me of what a criminal told me once. He said "There are no victims, only volunteers." Maybe it helped him sleep at night, but the biggest lies told are the ones we tell ourselves. The truth is that NOTHING justifies what these men did. They can twist logic all they want, to make themselves the victims, but you know what? By their own standard there are no victims, only volunteers. I hope they all hang.
"Until today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady,"
Let the defense attorney send his wife out alone at night on the streets of Delhi.
She should not get raped since she presumably is 'a decent lady'.
And if she does get raped, it just proves she is a wh*re
Sad, they jammed a steel rod up her vagina and they are innocent?
punks couldn't get their limp beenie weenies up enough to do the job.
jam that same rod up their asses repeatedly until they are dead.
a rod for a rod. these idiots are animals.
First off calling this group of people Indians is a disgrace to the (American Indians) we have inside the United States. How many of you, that are from India, now residing in the United States feel the way this attorney feels and why are you here? If you ask me rape is a crime against a person that scars a person for life and any crime that has so much power over ones being should be worthy of the death penalty! This is not a crime of accident this is an intentional crime of hate. Committing murder is only the nails in your coffin! This may not be the proper venue to discuss guns but I think every woman should carry one and know how to use it for protection. It is time we deter this type of crime and if the courts can't do it then maybe being able to protect ones self will do just that.
You do know why American Indians are called Indians right? It isn't accurate, but blame Columbus. Unless I'm not recalling it correctly. If so, I apologize.
I totally agree though, rape and child molestation should be capital offences. Long, drawn out and painful capital offences.
Rape is not a new problem.
Very pathetic excuse of a lawyer. What a comment to make publicly. Actually what a view to have, f#$@^king Idiot. I actually think that he should be hanged upside down with his balls. What an extent of idiocity, that's saying it mildly. I actually believe in Capital Punishment. And the gang of rapist should be used as an example for the whole community to serve as future deterrent. Death by hot rods sticked repeatedly into their asses, and if every such case is treated so, am sure it will work 100%. Intending rapist will be performing it in their crazy minds only. Because it is difficult to make a human beign acknowledge what they did is wrong and feel bad about it, because if they had conscience they will not do it in the first place. I think an unfortunate fate of the Nigeria's Aluu 4, would have been a good punishment and example for gang rapists in India and anywhere in the world.
To initiate the populous to the laws of humanity they should hang these pathetic excuses for men in the capital square. You may think that sounds contradictory but they need to show the seriousness of this violation.
That attorney is a worse than a pig.........no insult to pigs intended.
This idiotic sumbeech needs to be publicly caned.
Ignorance .......Stupidity........
What's even worse is there will be many in this country that will believe him.
This entire area of the world is like a bad dream. The part of the world that time forgot.
Nothing can ever justify the rape & murder of any woman, period!! It always amazes me that here in the 21st century, you have officials/leaders with powerful authority, who think so backwardly, like those here in india! The war against the oppression of women still rages!!!
In a country that commits infanticide on girl babies because the fathers don't want to pay the dowry and that has whole villages of only men? You expect something better from these humans, and I use that lightly, when they disregard the reality that you need two sexes to procreate naturally? When there are no women who will copulate with them and their race dies out, will we be the losers? All the earth is going crazy because men decided to make the decision that only men are worth anything, this has got to stop! God crated both sexes, we are both needed. The Chinese have a saying that "women hold up half the sky" and they are making the same mistakes. One wonders where all the girl babies that have been abducted have gone.
Ahh the Republican defense. This was not a legitamate rape. God ordained it.
Neither religion nr politics need to be brought up in these comments. It seems these two items come up in comments on these boards when they do not apply to the subject.
Why don't we do the world a huge favor and NUKE these f#ck#rs off the face of the planet?
Proud to be an American!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/sports/high-school-football-rape-case-unfolds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/gang-rape-charges-18-men-sparks-racial-tensions/story?id=13095476
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/girl-15-gang-raped-class-suit-article-1.123872
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/24/10841028-9-charged-in-alleged-gang-rape-of-14-year-old-girl-at-party-in-st-paul-minn?lite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Richmond_High_School_gang_rape
enough examples? how about statistics?
US NATIONAL RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT STATISTICS
According to a study conducted by the US National Victim Center, 1.3 women (age 18 and over) in the United States are forcibly raped each minute. That translates to 78 an hour, 1,871 per day, or 683,000 per year. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly 6 out of 10 rape/sexual assault incidents are reported by victims to have occurred in their own home or at the home of a friend, relative, or neighbor.51% of the sexual assault cases studied in the Women’s Safety Project survey were committed against young women between 16 and 21 years old.According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Only 16% of rapes are ever reported to the police. In a survey of victims who did not report rape or attempted rape to the police, the following was found as to why no report was made: 43% thought nothing could be done, 27% felt it was a private matter, 12% were afraid of police response, and 12% felt it was not important enough.13.3% of college women indicated that they had been forced to have sex in a dating situation.In a national survey 27.7% of college women reported a sexual experience since the age of fourteen that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape, and Among developmentally disabled adults, as many as 83% of the females and 32% of the males are the victims of sexual assault.16% of male students surveyed by the Ms. Foundation who had committed rape, and 10% of those who attempted a rape, took part in episodes involving multiple perpetrators.Women with disabilities are raped and abused at a rate at least twice that of the general population of women.
This is pretty much the same attitude and tactic used by rapists and their attornies in this country just a few decades ago. Its still a tactic that is used now, just with a little more finesse. In fact it was actually voiced by a couple of tea party candidates just this last year.
Our president Obama is a lawyer that blamed the fact that he has not had a budget for the last three years on everyone else and had Biden had to kick the can down the road for him when it came to the fiscal cliff. He great at pointing findgers and doing nothing...If it was educated as a lawyer, talks like a lawyer, shifts blame, takes no responsibility, it a lawyer...Obama meets all these criteria.
Most of our presidents have been educated as lawyers and this is not about Obama.
Sometimes it is the fault of the "victim". It is at least worth considering.
If a woman is walking naked down the street it is still up to the man to decide how he will behave. No one else is responsible for anyone else's lack of impulse control
Joe S you are living in the wrong century and the wrong country.
He should be sodomized by force and then flogged for allowing it to happen. It might give him a new perspective on rape and his current stance.
Typical response from a dick-oriented society.
The dim wit has to say this because he has NO OTHER DEFENSE! His boys are going die when the trial's over so he wants to look like he tried. In India the criminals are obviously preferred to the victim. Does this attorney have a daughter that can be found and dealt with accordingly? Then who's fault would it be?
Next this grease ball lawyer will say it's her fault she died. She didn't try hard enough to live.
Wow!...just WOW!!!