France: 25 years for girl's torture murder

Sohane Benziane (1984–October 4, 2002) was a French Muslim girl who was murdered at the age of 17.


On October 4, 2002 in Vitry-sur-Seine, in a predominently Muslim satellite town of Paris, 17 year old Sohane Benziane, the daughter of Kabyle immigrants, was burned alive in front of her friends in a cellar by a Muslim gang leader after he had an argument with her former boyfriend. While a watch was kept outside, the aggressor, a local caid nicknamed Nono ,who had bought the bottle of gasoline a day before ,poured gasoline over Sohane and set her on fire with a lighter.

As Sohanne, engulfed in flames, managed to run out screaming in agony her death was witnessed by a dozen other students that were coming out of class.

The incident captured the attention of the French and International press and sparked outrage throughout France. It led to the founding of the Feminist rights movement Ni Putes Ni Soumises.

The local gang leader, Jamal Derrar, was sentenced today to 25 years in jail. The BBC, being overly politically correct, manages to somehow only mention in the last line that the victim was Muslim. The ethnic identity of the murderer is never mentioned.

Derrar was convicted of pouring petrol over Sohane in the basement depot, then approaching her with a cigarette lighter and setting her on fire.

She died later at a hospital with burns over 80% of her body.

Derrar claimed she was his former girlfriend - a claim denied by witnesses - and that he had only been trying to scare her.

The court heard she had been attacked because she was the girlfriend of another man with whom Derrar had quarrelled.

A second defendant, 23-year-old Tony Rocca, was sentenced to eight years for barring the door of the depot as Sohane screamed for help.

Demanding a heavy sentence, prosecutor Jean-Paul Content told the court on Friday that the image of a woman being burned alive was sending France "several centuries back".

"Her death has become the symbol of the most extreme violence against women," he added.

Source: BBC, Wikipedia (English)