French Court Jails Pakistani For Burning Woman

`It sets a good example. For women who are victims of violence, I think 20 years is a good step,` Chahrazade Belayni, the victim, told.

A French court has jailed a Pakistani man for 20 years for setting his ex-girlfriend alight after she refused to marry him, in a case seen by rights activists as highlighting violence against women in poor neighbourhoods.

The sentence was handed down late on Thursday, court officials said on Friday.

"It sets a good example. For women who are victims of violence, I think 20 years is a good step," Chahrazade Belayni, the victim, told reporters after the sentence was read out.

Amer Mushtaq Butt, 28, doused Belayni with petrol and set fire to her on the street as she was leaving her home in the underprivileged Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Marne in 2005.

She suffered third-degree burns on 60 percent of her body, fell into a coma and had to undergo numerous operations. Belayni is now 21 and works for the police.

Butt fled to Pakistan after the attack but returned to France to hand himself in a year later. He pleaded guilty at his trial, saying it was a crime of passion.

Human rights groups such as the prominent "Ni Putes Ni Soumises" ("Neither whores nor submissive women") say violence against women is rife in poor communities with high Muslim populations on the outskirts of French cities.

The activists say some young Muslim men take out their frustrations about poverty and discrimination on women, demanding that they cover up according to Islamic tradition. If they refuse, they are considered "whores".