An image of a distressed woman has been shared widely on social media platforms. The image accompanied by claims that it depicts a Belgian woman subjected to a horrific five-day sexual assault in Pakistan. However, D-Intent Data has found that this image is unrelated to the recent incident in Pakistan. The woman in the image has been identified as Tereza Hluskova, a Czech Republic national who was apprehended at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport in 2018.
The Old image was disseminated as Belgian rape victim with misleading claims
Several users, influencers and propagandists have shared the image and linked it to the recent rape incident related to a Belgian woman in Pakistan.
Sharing the image on X (Formerly Twitter), @FarazPervaiz3 wrote, Belgian women sexually Assaulted for 5 Days by Muslims in Pakistan. The victim was found with her hands tied in Sector G-6 and was rescued by local police after a citizen alerted authorities in Islamabad.
Another user, The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) has also shared the image and wrote. A Belgian woman was tied and raped for 5 days by Pakistani Jihadis. But West will not highlight this, it’s just not in their interest.
Several other users, influencers and propagandists have also shared the image and made similar claims. Their posts can be seen here, @sanjoychakra, @Wahida_Afghan, @ChandanSharmaG.
The truth about the viral image of Belgian victim, Fact Check
As soon as the posts containing the image and claims came to our notice, we conducted research and analysis of the viral image and found that the image is unrelated to the recent rape of a foreign woman in Pakistan.
To verify the claims made by the users. We performed a reverse image search on Google which led us to several media reports containing the same image. According to the media reports(Daily Mail, The Sun, Daily Star). The distressed woman in the image is Tereza Hluskova, a Czech Republic national who was apprehended at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport in 2018 for attempting to smuggle a substantial amount of heroin, valued at approximately £1 million, into Ireland. Her arrest was widely reported by international news outlets. The woman is not the Belgian victim but a Czech Republic model.
However, the rape incident of the Belgian woman is true and has been reported by local and international media(Samma TV, India Today). Hence, it is evident from D-Intent Data’s Fact Check that the viral image doesn’t depict the Belgian rape victim in Pakistan but a Czech Republic national.
Intent
Social media users, influencers and propagandists are circulating unrelated images with misleading claims. To set their narrative to get the spotlight on social media.
Conclusion
Claim– The image depicts a Belgian woman who was sexually assaulted in Pakistan.
Fact – The image depicts Tereza Hluskova, a Czech Republic national. She was apprehended at Lahore Airport in 2018 for attempting to smuggle heroin, the woman is not the Belgian victim but a Czech Republic model.
Related Article: Fact Check: Old image of Syrian girl falsely shared as Palestinian victim of Israeli attack – D-Intent Data (dintentdata.com)
