Czech model misidentified as Belgian woman sexually assaulted in Pakistan

What is the claim? 

An image of a woman crying, accompanied by a police officer, has been shared with the false claim that it shows a Belgian woman who was sexually assaulted for five days in Pakistan.

The claim surfaced a day after a woman was found on a road by residents in Islamabad with her hands tied, as reported by local news outlets Samaa TV and Pakistan Today. The reports identify the victim as a Belgian national and add that multiple men assaulted her over five days, according to the woman's statement. One man has been arrested in this case so far.   

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the image with the caption, "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." The post was shared over 8,000 times and garnered over 22,000 likes. Similar claims can be viewed here and here. 

Screenshots of social media posts linking a 2019 image to the recent sexual assault incident in Pakistan. (Source: X / Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral image is old and unrelated to the recent sexual assault incident. The photograph is from 2021 and shows Czech model Tereza Hluskova outside a court in Lahore, Pakistan, after she was sentenced in a drug-related case.

What we found 

A reverse image search of the viral image led us to several reports stating that the woman in the image is Czech model Tereza Hluskova. A keyword search led us to an Associated Press (AP) report published on November 5, 2021, titled "Lawyer: Pakistan acquits Czech model sentenced in drug case" (archived here). The image published in the report shows the same woman and police officer. 

The image was captioned, "Czech model Tereza Hluskova, center, reacts after appearing in court in Lahore, Pakistan on March 20, 2019. Hluskova, who was sentenced to eight years on charges of attempting to smuggle heroin from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi will be freed next week following her acquittal by an appeal court, a defense lawyer said Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)."

According to the report, Hluskova was arrested in Pakistan in January 2018, allegedly with 8.5 kilograms of heroin, at Lahore airport while she was heading to Ireland via the UAE. In 2019, after a trial, she was sentenced to eight years in prison and a $800 fine on charges of drug trafficking. On November 5, 2021, she was acquitted by an appeals court. 

We also found the now-viral image in Agence France-Presse's (AFP) image archive, identifying the woman as Tereza Hluskova (archived here). The caption states that the image was captured after the "court decision to sentence her (Hluskova) to eight years and eight months in prison for attempted heroin smuggling, in Lahore on March 20, 2019." 

Matching visuals from the viral video and the 2019 Agence France-Presse file photo. (Source: X/ AFP)

We found the same image in an article published on November 1, 2021, by Pakistani media outlet Dawn and in an AFP article re-published by France24 and Geo News that confirms the woman's identity. 

However, the viral image was taken in 2019 and is unrelated to the case. Like most countries, Pakistan's laws prohibit the disclosure of the identities of rape victims and survivors.

The verdict 

The viral image from 2019 shows Czech model Tereza Hluskova outside a Lahore court in a drug-related case in Lahore, Pakistan. It is unrelated to the recent assault of a Belgian woman in Islamabad.