A Pakistani woman gang raped in 2002 on the orders of a village council said she can never forgive her attackers and she hopes they are sentenced to death.

The case of Mukhtaran Mai provoked a national outcry and has focused international attention on the treatment of women in rural Pakistan. The Pakistani Supreme Court will on Monday begin hearing Mai's appeal against the acquittal of five of six men convicted of attacking her and sentenced to death. "Right now I just have one (wish) that, God willing, there is a good decision in the case ... like the first decision," Mai said in an interview in her village in Punjab province.

"They should get the same punishment ... the death penalty." Asked if she could ever imagine reconciliation with the men who attacked her, Mai said that would be impossible. "I cannot do that; I cannot do that at any cost," she said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Pakistan gang rape victim Mukhtaran Mai (R) and her brother Abdul Shakoor walk in their village Meerwala, near Multan June 24, 2005. (REUTERS)