May 30, 2014 -- Updated 1759 GMT (0159 HKT)
A police officer and two other people were arrested after an alleged
gang-rape that left two teenage girls dead in an Indian village,
authorities said Friday. FULL STORY
|
OUTRAGED VILLAGERS AT SCENE
Three arrested after girls are gang-raped and left hanging from tree in India
May 30, 2014 -- Updated 1538 GMT (2338 HKT)
Do women feel safe in India?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Violence against women is "entrenched," a rights activist says
- Three brothers have been accused of rape and murder by the girls' families
- Two of them have been arrested; the other is being sought by police
- A police officer has also been arrested amid allegations of siding with the suspects
The shocking attack on the girls -- two cousins aged 14 and 16 -- sparked outrage in the village of Katra Sadatganj and beyond.
Angry villagers protested
around the bodies, preventing police from taking them down from the
tree for about 15 hours Wednesday, the day after the attack, said Mukesh
Saxena, a local police official.
A photo from the village,
in the state of Uttar Pradesh, showed the body of one girl, dressed in a
green tunic and pants, hanging from the tree. A large group of people,
many of them young children, were gathered around the grisly scene.
Police said an autopsy
confirmed the girls had been raped and strangled. The cremation of their
remains took place late Wednesday night in line with Hindu customs,
Saxena said.
Armed police officers have been deployed in the village to prevent any further unrest, he added.
Police under scrutiny
The girls' families
accused three brothers of carrying out the rape and killing. Two of the
brothers are now in custody, said R.K.S. Rathore, a deputy-inspector
general of police. One was arrested Thursday night, he said.
Police are still searching for the third brother.
The families of the
victims have accused local police of initially failing to respond and
siding with the suspects when the parents went to report the case. The
allegations have fueled anger among the villagers.
Saxena said three police officers have been temporarily suspended for negligence of duty, and one has been arrested.
He said the girls had gone out into the orchard to relieve themselves Tuesday night when they were grabbed by the attackers.
Some people saw the abduction but were unable to stop it, he said, citing eyewitnesses.
'Endemic' violence
The horrific gang rape
and murder of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi in late 2012 shook India,
focusing sharp attention on violent crimes against women in the
country, the world's second most populous after China.
The case prompted
protests in many cities, soul-searching in the media and changes to the
law. But shocking instances of sexual violence continue to come to light
with grim regularity.
"Laws can only do so
much when you have to end something which is as endemic and as
entrenched as violence against women," said Divya Iyer, a senior
researcher for Amnesty International in Bangalore, India.
The country's new prime
minister, Narendra Modi, has said he wants to take steps to make sure
woman are safe, particularly in rural India. But women's rights groups
have criticized what they say is a lack of specific proposals to tackle
the problem, suggesting gender inequality doesn't appear to be high on
his list of priorities.
"There is a lot more to do," Iyer told CNN. "That political leadership is unfortunately missing."
'Medieval lawlessness'
An opinion article in
The Times of India, a prominent daily newspaper, linked the attack this
week to rising crime and a crisis of authority in Uttar Pradesh, which
it said was sliding into "medieval lawlessness."
It wasn't immediately
clear whether India's entrenched caste system, which continues to cause
prejudice and persecution in some rural areas, played a role in the
attack. Rathore, the police official, said that the victims and the
suspects belonged to different low caste groups.
Zainab Salbi, the
founder of Women for Women International, pointed out that "violence
against women is a global issue," not limited to developing countries.
But Salbi told CNN that
in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries, "the concept of women as
property is still a common thing," meaning they don't get treated as
equal human beings.
CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh reported from New
Delhi, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's
Sumnima Udas contributed to this report.
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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, U.S. soldier held captive for nearly five years by
militants during the Afghanistan war, is released, the White House says.
(CNN) -- Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier
held captive for nearly five years by militants during the Afghanistan
war, has been released in exchange for five Guantanamo detainees, authorities said Saturday.
Photos: Americans detained abroad
New hope for U.S. soldier held captive
U.S. Army Sergeant released by Taliban
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Bowe Bergdahl, U.S. soldier held in Afghanistan, freed in swap
May 31, 2014 -- Updated 1905 GMT (0305 HKT)
U.S. Army Sergeant released by Taliban
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Plane carrying detainees leaves Navy base in Cuba
- Parents say they are "joyful and relieved"
- American soldier captured by Taliban in June 2009
- Five detainees are being sent from Guantanamo to Qatar in exchange
"Today the American people are pleased that we will be able to welcome home Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl," the White House said in a statement.
Bergdahl, the only
remaining U.S. soldier captured during conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, was recovered by U.S. special operations forces about 10:30
a.m. ET in a peaceful handover in eastern Afghanistan, a senior Defense
official told CNN. There were 18 Taliban members present.
Once on the American
helicopter, Bergdahl, 28, used a paper plate to communicate because of
the noise. He wrote on it, "SF?" meaning, "Special Forces?" The
operators sitting with Bergdahl responded loudly: "Yes, we've been
looking for you for a long time," according to the official.
Bergdahl broke down crying, the official recounted.
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in a separate statement that he had informed Congress of the decision to transfer five detainees
from Guantanamo Bay to Qatar in exchange for Bergdahl, who was the only
remaining American soldier captured from conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
"A few hours ago, the
family of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was informed by President Obama that their
long wait for his return will soon be over," Hagel said.
Photos: Americans detained abroad
New hope for U.S. soldier held captive
U.S. Army Sergeant released by Taliban
"Sgt. Bergdahl is now
under the care of the U.S. military after being handed over by his
captors in Afghanistan. We will give him all the support he needs to
help him recover from this ordeal, and we are grateful that he will soon
be reunited with his family."
A statement from
Bergdahl's parents, Bob and Jani, said: "We were so joyful and relieved
when President Obama called us today to give us the news that Bowe is
finally coming home! We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only
son. We want to thank Bowe's many supporters in Idaho, around the nation
and around the world. We thank the Amir of Qatar for his efforts. And
of course, we want to take this opportunity to thank all those in the
many U.S. Government agencies who never gave up. Today, we are
ecstatic!"
Secretary of State John Kerry said the "cost of years of captivity to Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl and his family is immeasurable."
"As we look to the
future in Afghanistan, the United States will continue to support steps
that improve the climate for conversations between Afghans about how to
end the bloodshed in their country through an Afghan-led reconciliation
process," Kerry said in a statement.
In exchange for
Bergdahl's release, five detainees at Guantanamo Bay will be released to
Qatar. The U.S. has "appropriate assurances" that Qatar will be able to
secure the detainees there, where they are under a travel ban for a
year.
A U.S. Air Force
aircraft carrying the detainees left the U.S. Navy base in Cuba on
Saturday afternoon, a senior Defense official told CNN.
Hagel said the United
States "coordinated closely with Qatar to ensure that security measures
are in place and the national security of the United States will not be
compromised."
The United States
believes Bergdahl had been held for the bulk of his captivity in
Pakistan, the official said. It was unclear when he was moved to
Afghanistan.
The transfer was brokered through the local Qatari government, the official said. Talks for the transfer began about a week ago.
U.S. officials had said
this year that one route to getting Bergdahl back was through Qatari
officials, who had been talking to the Taliban. But Bergdahl was
believed to be held by operatives from the Haqqani network, an insurgent
force affiliated with the Taliban and al Qaeda, and it was not clear
whether Haqqani operatives would abide by any agreement among the United
States, Qatar and the Taliban.
For now, Bergdahl is at a forward operating base in Afghanistan.
Bergdahl's parents happened to still be in Washington, having visited for Memorial Day.
President Obama said in
the White House statement, "On behalf of the American people, I was
honored to call his parents to express our joy that they can expect his
safe return, mindful of their courage and sacrifice throughout this
ordeal."
Bergdahl was deployed to Afghanistan in May 2009 and captured by the Taliban on June 30, 2009, in Paktika province.
In July of that year, a U.S. military official said the soldier was being held by the clan of warlord Siraj Haqqani.
The United States has
long declared that it won't negotiate with terrorists, which is what it
considers the Taliban, but analysts have said the U.S. has effectively
maneuvered around the edges of that declaration over the years.
The Taliban had long
demanded the release of five detainees at the U.S. military prison at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But U.S. officials said that releasing them would
be difficult because Congress would have to be notified in advance, and
lawmakers have previously resisted releasing them.
Bergdahl, of Wood River
Valley, Idaho, appeared in diminished health in a video that the U.S.
military obtained in January. His family also received a letter from him
last year via the Red Cross.
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