Shock in Tunisia after abduction and gang rape of 15-year-old girl

A 15-year-old Tunisian girl was gang-raped after she was abducted from her home in the town of Goubellat in the Beja governorate, northwest of Tunisia.

Unidentified men stormed the girls’ house and attacked her grandmother, 80 years old, and her mother, 55 years old, and then kidnapped the girl to later sexually assault her.

The grandmother was severely injured during the attack and she passed away on Tuesday evening in a hospital in Tunis. The girl’s mother is still being hospitalized.

The girl was later found dumped in a valley that’s about five kilometers away from her house, the interior ministry said, adding that before slipping into a coma, the victim told them that she was attacked and sexually assaulted by a group of men.

According to the ministry, four suspects have been detained. It is an ongoing investigation as the authorities are waiting for the lab and the forensic examination results.

The horrific crime shocked Tunisians and many social media users have voiced the importance of executing those involved.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the government pledged to arrest all the perpetrators and try them. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed tasked Minister for Women, the Family and Children Neziha Laabidi with visiting the family’s house and supervising the necessary measures to provide the needed psychological and medical support for the girl and her mother.