ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistani court on Thursday sentenced 10 men to life in prison for their role in the 2012 shooting of Malala Yousafzai, the teenage Nobel laureate who defied the Taliban with her calls for girls’ education and won worldwide acclaim for her courage.
The sentences were handed down by an antiterrorism court in Swat, the picturesque northern valley that was once a stronghold of the Taliban until a military offensive in 2009 broke their hold.
Ms. Yousafzai, who is now 17, was shot in the head in October 2012 when she was returning home from school with her classmates on a bus. After a brief stay in a military hospital in Rawalpindi, she was airlifted for treatment to Britain, where she is now studying and living with her exiled family.
In September 2014, the Pakistani military announced the arrest of 10 men it accused of being involved in the attack. Officials said the gunmen took orders from Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the main Pakistani Taliban branch who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, when they attacked Ms. Yousafzai and the other students.
The militants held sway in the Swat Valley until 2009, terrorizing the population with their brutal reign, marked by public killings and the lashing of their opponents.
Ms. Yousafzai rose to prominence after her blog chronicled life in the valley under Taliban rule and the ambitions of a young girl yearning for an education. Guided by her father, Ziauddin, an advocate for education, she became a symbol against Taliban oppression. Her fame and relentless campaigning rankled the Taliban, who threatened to kill her.
Ms. Yousafzai has won several awards for her bravery and was the joint winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize along with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian campaigner for the rights of children.
- http://bit.ly/1JDkFCf
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu