The rape and murder in Algeria of a 19-year-old woman sparked cries for action on gender-based violence in the North African country and calls to bring back capital punishment.
The body of the young woman, identified as Chaima, was found in early October at a deserted petrol station in Thenia, 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of the country capital , Algiers.
She had been beaten, raped and burned alive, according to local media.
The suspect, who has reportedly confessed, is being charged with “rape and voluntary homicide with premeditation and ambush, using torture.
Chaima’s mother said the man was an acquaintance of the family, against whom the young woman had previously pressed rape charges in 2016.
The killing set off a wave of outrage on social media in Algeria, where internet users condemned the “heinous” crime and demanded justice, with many calling for the death penalty, under moratorium in the country since 1993.
A message shared widely online reads: “I am Chaima, I was raped in 2016 and I had the courage to press charges in a conservative society. I am still Chaima, it is 2020 and I have again been raped by the same rapist, who stabbed and burned me.
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