South African authorities have charged seven men with 32 counts of rape after a massive attack at an abandoned mine near Johannesburg.
A group of eight women were attacked while filming a music video in a mineshaft near the town of Krugersdorp last month.
Officials say they are illegal miners extracting gold from abandoned quarries.
The men were among more than 60 suspects tried on immigration and firearms charges.
They are all considered illegal migrants in South Africa. However, they are expected to be tried separately due to the seriousness of their crimes.
The women identified the suspects during the police investigation following the attacks.
But police said the number of defendants could rise as DNA tests are carried out, as many of the men involved wore hoods when they attacked staff, obscuring their identities.
Protesters from various civil societies and political parties gathered outside the court to demand that the men be denied bail.
The attacks have sparked outrage in South Africa, with some calling on authorities to do more to combat violence against women.
Elsewhere, links between attacks and migration have angered people who seek to hunt down foreign miners and burn their homes.
Earlier this week, three rape survivors told the BBC about their ordeal, which left them traumatized and fearing for their lives.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa asked for help in bringing the attackers to justice during a nationwide appeal last month.
"These heinous and brutal acts are enemies of the right of women and girls to live and work in freedom and security," Ramaphosa told South Africans. "We are asking communities to cooperate with the police to ensure that the perpetrators are caught and prosecuted."
And South Africa's Women's Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said the attacks had sparked a "moment of crisis" and urged the country to defend the "democratic gains" made by women.
Three years ago, Mr Ramaphosa declared gender-based violence a national crisis, and with recent gang-rapes, campaigners are calling for a state of emergency to be declared so that rape and Gender-based crime is a priority for swift prosecution. .
And the political conference of the ruling African National Congress has called for the chemical castration of rapists in response to the latest attack.
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