Dubai men who raped Briton sentenced to 10-year jail terms

Two men who kidnapped and raped a British executive have been sentenced to ten years each in prison.

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DUBAI // Two men who kidnapped and raped a British executive have been sentenced to ten years each in prison.

The British woman, who was at a Dubai nightclub, was kidnapped and raped by three Iranian men, one of whom is still at large.

Prosecutors said the Briton, CA, a 28-year-old manager, had been drinking at the Rock Bottom Café in Regent Palace Hotel, Bur Dubai, on July 6 last year.

The woman, who admits being drunk, said she left the hotel and hailed a cab to return to her home.

She was picked up by a Pakistani driver, 37, who noticed she was “totally drunk”. She soon fell asleep on the back seat.

He said the woman woke up after a short while and asked him to take her to Jumeirah Beach Residence instead. When they arrived she asked him to stop at an ATM so she could withdraw money.

She got out of the car and stood in front of the machine, but returned without any money and then tried to sit in the driver’s seat. “I took out the car’s key,” said the driver.

A red Hyundai then pulled over and three Iranian men approached the driver, telling him they knew the woman. They paid the taxi fare and took her to their car, the court heard.

Prosecutors said the men took her to an apartment in Naif where they took turns raping her.

The woman said she made repeated attempts to escape, but kept being dragged back by one of the men. “He told me: ‘You can’t run away’,” she said.

"I noticed one of them filming me and I begged them to let me go but they ignored my pleas and laughed at me, speaking to each other in broken English,” she said.

The next day she reported the attack to her French flatmate EM, 26.

The flatmate told her not to shower so that the evidence would be preserved and they headed to Rashidiya Police Station to report the attack.

YJ and AK, both aged 20, denied the charge of rape at the Criminal Court last November.

The defence lawyer said the woman had fabricated the story. “She watches a lot of action movies,” he said.

The defendants will be deported following the completion of their jail terms. The verdict is subject to appeal within 15 days.

salamir@thenational.ae