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22nd Nov 2016

British rape victim in Dubai has been let go following case collapsing

She was potentially facing jail time for reporting the rape

Rebecca Keane

Earlier this week, we received the news of one British 25-year-old woman being charged for having extra-marital sex after reporting she had been gang-raped in Dubai.

The woman was released on bail but her passport has been confiscated. The woman says that she was attacked by two men from Birmingham while in Dubai on holidays.

 According to the BBC, after the incident, Detained in Dubai (an organisation that assists people who have become victims of injustice in the UAE) said the woman may have faced trial for the charges – for which possible punishments include imprisonment, deportation, flogging and even stoning to death.

The organisation advised tourists in UAE not to report rape because of the “manipulation when it comes to criminal accusations” and the “racist” preconceptions held against Western tourists.

According to METRO, the woman has been released. Dubai police dropped the case as a video of the crime occurring was released.

A statement from prosecutors said:

“The office of Dubai Public Prosecutor has closed the case involving the alleged rape of British national ZJM following careful examination of all evidence.’

“They added 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 was reported that the British woman was lured into a hotel room by two British men, where the men took turns raping her and filmed it.