Zainab Ansari: Man given four death sentences for rape and murder of seven-year-old girl that shocked Pakistan

A man has been given four death sentences for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Pakistan last month.

Imran Ali, 24, has also been linked to murders and sexual assaults of other girls in the region by police.

Zainab Ansari was abducted, sexually assaulted and killed in Kasur, a city in the country’s Punjab region.

Forensic evidence linking Ali to the girl’s murder was presented in court and witnesses testified against him.

He was given death sentences for kidnapping, rape, murder and an act of terrorism, according to reports, as well as a life sentence for sodomy.

Last month, CCTV footage emerged which showed the child, who was on her way to a religious studies class, being led away by a man on the evening of 4 January.

Her body was found in a rubbish dump on 9 January.

The girl’s death led to violent protests against alleged police inaction in Kasur, as well as the cities of Lahore and Karachi.

At least two people died and dozens more were injured in Kasur when protests turned violent.

The case, the latest in a string of sexual assaults and murders of girls in the region, sparked international outcry against gender-based violence.