A court in India has sentenced three convicted rapists to death by hanging under a new law that seeks to crack down on attacks on women in the country.
According to Al-Jazeera, "The men are the first to be tried and convicted under a recently revised law that carries the death penalty for those convicted of multiple sexual assaults."
The news agency says:
"The anti-rape law is aimed at repeat sexual offenders and puts in place a host of new provisions and punishments, including criminalizing stalking, voyeurism and acid attacks.
"It stipulates the death penalty for repeat offenders and those whose victims are left in a vegetative state."
The three men who have been given the death penalty were convicted of raping a photojournalist in Mumbai last year, but the men were also among a group of five men convicted of gang raping another woman, according to the BBC.
As we reported in August, the assault on the photojournalist occurred as she and a male colleague were on a shoot of old buildings in south Mumbai.
In the past year, a number of incidents of sexual assault, including several gang rapes, have made headlines in India and around the world, highlighting what activists say has been a long-hidden problem.
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