Delhi Rape Lawyer: Police Sodomized My Clients

A lawyer for three of the defendants in the New Delhi gang-rape case is coming out swinging: Manohar Lal Sharma says not only were his clients tortured into confession, but ultimately it's the victims who are at fault. "Until today I have not seen a single incident of rape with a respected lady," Sharma tells Bloomberg. "Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect." The male companion of the victim is "wholly responsible" for the attack, he says, since the two shouldn't have been on Delhi's streets at night.

Speaking outside court today, the BBC reports that Sharma says his clients will plead not guilty. He says one 22-year-old was tortured for 10 days and is "unable to speak now." And what he describes as allegedly occurring at the hands of police during the men's interrogations is brutal, reports the Guardian:

• "They were forced to drink urine and from the toilet. They were sexually assaulted with sticks in their backside. Whatever statements they made were made under duress and are worthless."

But Sharma's attempt to blame the victims "is the mentality which most Indian men are suffering from, unfortunately," says a social advocate. "That is the mindset that has been perpetrating this crime." (More New Delhi stories.)