The trial of five of the men accused of raping a woman in India so badly that she died of her injuries, began on Monday in a fast-track court in New Delhi.

Although the proceedings were temporarily delayed yesterday as defense lawyers attempted to convince the court to allow the public and the media into the trial. “Kindly allow the media, because crime is against the society: society, [the] person at large has every right to know what is going on in [the] court itself,” said attorney V.K. Anand, explaining why they wanted an open trial.

Their requests were unsuccessful however and Judge Yogesh Khanna determined that only people connected with the case would be allowed into the proceedings.

The prosecutors in the case are confident that they will be able to convict the five men standing trial for the brutal rape of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student. The chief prosecutor in the case has said that he will seek the death penalty for all five men.

Prosecutors will rely on DNA evidence, cell phone records as well as the statement made by the victim before she died from internal injuries.

Defense lawyers for two of the five men have said that their clients will plead “not guilty” of the charges and have also said that their clients had their confessions coerced through beatings and torture from the police.

Another of the accused wishes to have his trial moved away from New Delhi, saying that he could not get a fair trial in New Delhi where their has been widespread calls to hang the accused.

The sixth person on trial for the rape and death of the student, claims to be a juvenile and will stand trial separately.

Arguements in the case will begin Thursday.

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