Outrage as 11 convicts of 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case freed

Indian activists and politicians have condemned the decision by a court in Gujarat to release 11 men who had received life sentences for the rape of a pregnant Muslim woman in 2002 amid religious riots.

The Hindu men, who were also convicted of killing seven of the woman's family, were released on Monday under laws which allow convicts to seek remission after 14 years in jail, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat in 2002, when the Hindu-Muslim riots took place. Now he is the leader of the country's government, with many accusing him of fomenting religious divisions.

The release also raised questions around the government's stance on women in a country notorious for violence against them.

Media images showed the men being welcomed with sweets and garlands outside the jail upon their release, which came as India celebrated 75 years of independence.

The 11 men were convicted of killing the woman's three-year-old daughter as one of their victims.

What was the unrest in Gujarat?

The riots in Gujarat in 2002 are considered some of the worst religious unrest seen in the predominantly Hindu country. 

Many see the violence as having been triggered by the death of almost 60 Hindus in a train that caught fire, with suspicion falling on Muslim extremists as the arsonists, though this has not been proven.

More than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the ensuing unrest.

Modi has since faced persistent criticism from opposition politicians over what some saw as his inaction and complicity in the violence.

What have critics said?

The husband of the rape victim, Yakub Rasul, said that he and his wife had not been informed of the release through official channels.

"We have lost our family and want to live in peace, but suddenly this has happened," Yakub Rasul told Reuters news agency. "We had no prior information about their release, either from the courts or the government. We only learnt about it from the media."

Senior lawyer Anand Yagnik said that "the remission of the sentence of convicts of a gruesome crime like gang rape and murder is morally and ethically improper," adding: "What is the signal we are trying to send?"

The writer and feminist Kavita Krishnan wrote a Twitter message directed at the prime minister questioning whether his support for women ended when a woman was Muslim.

The president of the AIMIM party, Asaduddin Owaisi, also accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, which still rules the state of Gujarat, of being indifferent to crimes against women when the victims are Muslim.