Victim of Brazilian gang rape speaks out in TV interview

Interview: the survivor appeared on Brazilian TV
Hannah Al-Othman1 June 2016

The teenage victim of a brutal gang rape in Brazil has spoken out about her ordeal on a local television station.

The 16-year-old girl, says she was drugged before being gang raped by 33 men, some of whom were armed.

She was attacked in a Rio de Janeiro slum on May 21, and so far two men have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Speaking to a local television channel she said: "I fell asleep and woke up in a different place with a man underneath me, another one on top and two other holding my hands and several people laughing at me. Also, I was drugged and confused.

"There were many people armed and many boys laughing and talking.

"There were adults and not only boys. Now they judge me and blame me.

"They robbed me. They robbed me but not of any material property but of physical property."

Suspect: Rai de Souza has been arrested 
Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Police do not dispute that the attack happened but a spokesman said tests on the victim were carried out too late to provide conclusive evidence.

Prosecutors say that one of the two men arrested may have been the victim's boyfriend.

In the hours after the attack several of the men joked about the assualt online, sharing pictures of the unconscious and naked victim on Twitter and WhatsApp.

The two men who have been detained by police are Rai de Souza, 22 and Lucas Perdomo Duarte Santos, 20.

In the wake of the attack, Brazil's interim president Michel Temer has announced that an institution for women's rights will be created.

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