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Women protest in Krugersdorp this Monday
Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed/AP
After a gang rape in South Africa, more than 80 suspects have to answer in court.
Police chief Fannie Masemola said the suspects were still under investigation to determine if they were linked to the rapes.
First of all, no one has been officially accused of the gang rape.
The suspects were brought to court for illegal entry and possession of stolen goods.
A group of armed men attacked the participants and raped eight young women while filming a music video on Thursday.
According to the police, the robbery happened near the small town of Krugersdorp west of Johannesburg.
The men attacked the crew as they were setting up their equipment, Police Minister Bheki Cele said.
According to him, the victims of the rape are between 18 and 35 years old.
A woman was raped by ten men, another by eight.
According to the police, many of the suspects are foreign workers who were illegally panning for gold in closed South African mines.
84 suspects were arrested in a raid on a disused mine.
Two other suspects were killed in a shootout with police.
A third was taken to hospital with injuries, police said.
People protest in front of the court
Police Minister Cele described the gang rape as "a disgrace to the nation."
DNA samples from the raped women are now being used to identify the perpetrators, he said.
In a circular, President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the "horrible acts of brutality".
He called the gang rape an "affront to the right of women and girls to live and work in freedom and security."
According to the AP news agency, more than 300 people demonstrated outside Krugersdorp Magistrates' Court on Monday to express their anger at the rapes.
On average, a rape is reported to the police in South Africa every 12 minutes.
A high number of unreported cases can be assumed.
kko/AFP/AP