DUBAI // A man sentenced to death last July for luring a woman to his office with a job advertisement then raping her has had his sentence reduced to five years in prison, followed by deportation.
The sentence was drastically reduced yesterday by the Dubai Court of Appeals, but no reason was made available to the press.
It was a year ago that Iraqi defendant, 44-year-old contracting manager HA, posted an advertisement in an Arabic daily newspaper for a secretarial position.
His victim, 30-year-old EM, who was visiting the country and seeking a full-time job to gain residency, called HA's mobile number and agreed to meet with him on the afternoon of January 8, 2012.
Because she didn't know the location of his office, she asked HA to give directions to her taxi driver who dropped her at a studio apartment.
EM arrived at around 1:30pm and entered the apartment, but the manager locked the door as she walked in. Feeling uncomfortable, EM expressed her wish to leave and began to walk towards the door.
HA responded by grabbing her and throwing her onto his desk. The woman told prosecutors she screamed and fought him as hard as she could but her efforts and pleas were ignored.
EM took the bus back to the apartment where she was staying with a number of girls. She told a roommate what had happened and she advised her to lodge a complaint.
EM went to the Naif police station and reported the incident. HA was arrested the following day.
A forensic report confirmed the rape and found traces of DNA on the woman's clothes matching those of the defendant.
Public prosecutors are expected to appeal the sentence in Dubai's Court of Cassation.
salamir@thenational.ae
