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'Raped' Briton who reported sex attack is arrested for ‘illegal sex and drinking’
Justin Davenport, Crime Editor8 Jan 2010
A London woman on holiday in Dubai told police she had been raped but was then arrested for having illegal sex with her fiancé.
The 23-year-old was celebrating her engagement when she was allegedly attacked by a waiter in a lavatory.
But when she complained to the police she found herself being questioned about “illegal drinking” outside licensed premises and having sex outside marriage.
Both she and her 44-year-old fiancé, who is also from London, were arrested and put in police cells.
The couple are now understood to have been released on bail but their passports have been confiscated and they are awaiting trial.
The woman, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, had been with her boyfriend on a three-day New Year break at Dubai Marina's Address Hotel.
She admitted she had drunk too much as she celebrated with him at the hotel on New Year's Eve and passed out when she went to the lavatory.
A waiter, who is believed to be Syrian, is said to have followed her and raped her while she was semi-conscious.
Her fiancé was unaware of the attack and helped her to their room where they slept until the next day. They then went to the police.
They questioned her and her fiancé about breaking the emirate's strict rules, which contain elements of Sharia law.
She was made to provide a blood sample to prove she had been drinking and was only given access to proper medical procedures and a morning-after pill when British embassy staff intervened.
A cellmate of the woman told The Sun: “She's a British girl, but a Muslim, so I think they were tougher on her because of that. She was trying to report the rape but soon realised the policemen were more interested in how often she has sex with her boyfriend.”
Her assailant is believed to have denied rape claiming that the woman consented to sex. But he has also been charged with having “illegal sex”. A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed that two British nationals were arrested in Dubai on 1 January.
“Our embassy in Dubai is providing consular assistance,” she said.
Despite its popularity as a holiday destination, Dubai retains strict laws on sexual intercourse and alcohol.
In July 2008, Britons Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vince Acors, 34, were handed suspended three-month sentences for having sex on the beach.
