Fourteen illegal miners in South Africa have been cleared of rape charges after DNA evidence failed to link them to the crime.
In July, eight women were attacked by dozens of men while they were filming a music video near an abandoned mine outside Johannesburg.
Reports of the attack rocked South Africa and led to violent protests and threats against undocumented migrants.
Police say they will keep investigating to bring the offenders to justice.
South Africa has one of the world’s highest reported rape rates, but convictions remain low.
The attack on models and the music video crew renewed calls for authorities to do more to tackle gender-based violence – but many will now see the dropped charges as another failure with regard to sexual assault victims.
“This will add to existing cynicism against police and courts in their handling of sexual violence cases,” Lisa Vetten, director of Tshwaranang, which campaigns to end violence against women, and who has spoken to some of the victims.
“Having this sort of thing happen can be a massive setback in believing or trying to believe that you can be safe again,” she told the BBC.
The 14 men were taken into custody and charged after some of the victims pointed them out during a police line-up.
However on Thursday, a spokesperson from South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said there was “insufficient evidence to continue with the case”.
Ms Vetten accepts that this was not an easy case to investigate. “You have a crime scene with multiple suspects and on top of that very many men who were at the scene too. Extracting DNA at a scene that contaminated becomes incredibly difficult,” she said.
People in the Kagiso township blame the “Zama Zamas” – a colloquial term for illegal miners who dig for gold in disused shafts – for a rise in local crime.
Reports of the attack enflamed already heightened tensions.
Street protests saw police fire stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse angry mobs who were chasing the miners with machetes and golf clubs.
Locals also set fire to the homes of migrants they believed were illegally working in disused mines.
Although the 14 men have been cleared of sexual violence and robbery charges, the NPA said they would still be charged with contravening the Immigration Act.
Source: BBC
