The 26-year-old from Cuba described her gang-rape by the two Pakistanis who took her at gunpoint to an abandoned house in a deserted location in the Kilkis Zones and abused her body, in front of her partner’s fearful eyes, before the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki.
The shocking incident took place on the evening of January 14, 2022, and three men from Pakistan, aged 22 to 30, were in the dock today, accused of conspiracy to rob the couple and three of their compatriots, who crossed the border together them that night and for the consecutive rape of the 26-year-old.
The court unanimously found the defendants guilty, without recognizing any mitigating circumstances. The two were sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 16.5 years, while the third defendant, who was convicted of robbery and accessory to rape, was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison (suspended for 20).
In their apologies, the first of the three defendants admitted to the act of robbery while denying the rape. The second defendant denied any involvement in the case, characteristically saying that “I have no need to rob, because I have money”. The third defendant admitted in court that he had sexual intercourse with the 26-year-old, but claimed that it was done with the victim’s consent and desire, denying rape.
How they robbed and raped the couple from Cuba
According to the indictment, the couple’s nightmare began at 8:30 p.m. on January 14, 2022, when they and three other compatriots illegally crossed the Greek border from North Macedonia and walked to the hotel where they would be staying in Kilkis. The three Pakistanis met them on the road and after parking their car on an adjacent dirt road, came out armed with pistols and drove them to a nearby deserted location. After removing all their belongings, including money, mobile phones and passports, they then forcibly grabbed the 26-year-old and led her into the abandoned house where they raped her one after another.
Throughout the gang-rape, the 26-year-old’s partner was on the ground and was being held by one of the three defendants under the threat of violence, while in his attempt to react to protect the young girl, he received a strong blow to the head with a bat.
The 26-year-old Cuban described in court the nightmare she lived through at the hands of the Pakistanis who abused her body one after the other, threatening her with a pistol, while she recognized their faces again.
The testimony of the 26-year-old
As she said in her testimony, the perpetrators abused her one after the other, as when the first abused her body, he gave the “baton” to the next to unleash his own sick appetites. “My partner realized what was happening and tried to react, even though he was at gunpoint, so one of them hit him on the head with a wooden bat,” the woman said.
“I was in a state of shock and trying to understand what had happened and how we could move on immediately afterwards. My partner and I just hugged and decided that we should continue on our way to get to the hotel and meet my mother”, added the 26-year-old.
According to the victim, the perpetrators wore protective masks on their faces, but they removed them during the rape so she was able to retain their features.
“Then we continued on our way to the hotel. There we met my mother. The next day, as soon as we left the hotel, my partner realized that the one outside and the other two were waiting a little further away. He started running towards them and stopped one of them, then we called the police who arrested them. One of them had a gun on him”, noted the victim, with the police witness testifying later in the process, that the perpetrator’s pistol was armed and ready to use.
“They raped my partner”
The 26-year-old’s partner, himself a victim of the perpetrators, described in turn how the perpetrators spotted them, immobilized them and attacked them. “When we entered Greek territory we arrived at a hotel and went to buy water from a gas station. About 100 meters away, two unknown people approached us and asked us what country we were from. We continued walking and after 7-8 kilometers we met the people we saw a car moving suspiciously. A little later, three people came down and threatened us with weapons.”