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Case dropped against British tourist who reported alleged rape in Dubai

A woman who was arrested for having extramarital sex after she claimed she was raped by two men i...
Newstalk
Newstalk

20.44 22 Nov 2016


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Case dropped against British t...

Case dropped against British tourist who reported alleged rape in Dubai

Newstalk
Newstalk

20.44 22 Nov 2016


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A woman who was arrested for having extramarital sex after she claimed she was raped by two men in Dubai will not face trial.

The case against the alleged victim, in her 20s, has been dropped after investigators decided the act was consensual.

Dubai's public prosecutor's office said it had reached the decision after "careful" examination of the evidence, including footage from one of the suspects' mobile phones.

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The woman had been arrested after she reported the alleged attack by two men from Birmingham while on holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October.

She was bailed but had her passport confiscated and could have faced jail if found guilty following a trial.

Her family had launched an online appeal, urging the public and the UK government to help negotiate her release.

Both men, who were arrested and questioned but not charged, also had their passports taken away.

All three are now in the process of getting them back and are free to leave Dubai, officials have said.

A public prosecutor statement said: "The office has decided not to proceed with legal proceedings.

"The public prosecutor's office clarified that a thorough review of statements given by the British woman and the two suspects... showed that the act happened with the consent of the three parties in question.

"A video obtained from the mobile phone of one of the suspects detailing the act was a key evidence that supported this conclusion."

It added: "Dubai's legal system takes reports of all crimes very seriously, including and especially violence against women, and conducts thorough investigations of all incidents."

Campaign group Detained in Dubai said it welcomed the prosecutor's decision.

It said: "It is pleasing that the UAE government has chosen to drop charges for consensual sex outside of marriage against a British national who reported that she was raped by two British men in Dubai.

"We expect that the international outrage that this case deserved influenced authorities to drop the charges in order to spare the UAE of such negative press.

"Others in the past have not been so fortunate.

"But we hope that this landmarks a fresh approach to similar cases in the future and recommend that authorities be properly trained on how to treat potential victims of crime."


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