A 19-year-old Algerian girl was kidnapped, raped and burned to death by a man who had previously been jailed for raping her, local media reported.
The charred remains of Chaima Sadou were found on October 2 in an abandoned petrol station in Thenia town, about 60 kilometres east of capital Algiers.
Her mother had demanded her daughter’s killer, identified as Rayan, be sentenced to death.
In 2016, Rayan was jailed for three years after he was convicted of raping Sadou. The mother believes the murder was a revenge attack after the jail term.
In a press conference, the public prosecutor revealed more details about the murder. It was learned that the killer told local authorities that “his friend was burned at an abandoned gas station.”
According to the statement of the alleged culprit, the facts date back to October 1 at 3pm. The prosecutor reported the criminal said he was with the victim for seven minutes before she asked him to bring her food because she was hungry. He said that once he was five metres away from where he left her, he saw smoke rising from the station.
“An investigation was immediately launched, and the victim’s body examined. Several bruises, as well as large wounds on the back of her skull and on the top of her left thigh were found,” the prosecutors said.
Following his appearance before the attorney general, the murderer confessed that he lured the victim to the abandoned place, where he raped, beat and burned her after he doused her with petrol.
The perpetrator was subsequently charged with rape and premeditated murder with the use of torture and barbaric methods. The investigating judge ordered the suspect be remanded in prison.
The gruesome murder sparked a widespread outrage throughout Algeria. It caused a stir even in France and on social media where the hashtag #JeSuisChaima was one of the most shared on Twitter on Monday.
Ania El Afandi said on her Twitter account: “He raped her and when she filed a complaint against him ... he killed her and burned her body.” El Afandi asked how the man that raped Sadou in 2016 has been left free all these years and for how long rape and violence against women will continue.
Othmane Daas responded: “The solution to end the series of these crimes is the application of the death penalty.”
The family of the victim has called for the death sentence. Twitter users widely circulated a video clip showing Chaima’s mother demanding retribution, and she received broad support from Algerians. “My daughter was murdered and burnt. I call for the application of the death penalty. That’s all I ask,” the victim’s mother said.
Upon his release he returned to harass the teen and forced her to meet with him only to kidnap her, rape her and kill her, her mother added.
Chaima’s mother appealed to Algerian President Abdel Majid Tebboune to implement the death penalty. Tebboune recently ordered the application of maximum penalties, after pressure from large sections of society calling for the re-imposition of capital punishment, without possible relief or pardon against those convicted of kidnapping.
Algeria continues to impose the death penalty to dozens of cases each year, especially for terrorism offences, but it has not been carried out since 1993.