PARIS, Feb 13: A French court has jailed a Pakistani man for 20 years for setting his ex-girlfriend alight after she refused to marry him. 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 Ms 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. Mr 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 claim violence against women is rife in poor communities with high Muslim populations on the outskirts of French cities.

They say some Muslim men take out their frustrations about poverty and discrimination on women.—Reuters