May 18, 2010
Rape victim tried for sex
ABU DHABI - AN EMIRATI woman who had complained to police that she was gang raped by six men is being tried for having consensual sex with one of them, The National newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The prosecution told Abu Dhabi's criminal court that the 18-year-old woman had in effect consented to having sex with one of the six men, an Emirati friend of hers, because she agreed to go for a drive with him on May 2, the English-language daily said.
The paper, citing the prosecution, said the 19-year-old man had sex with her in his car and then invited five of his friends - four Emiratis and one Iraqi - to join them. The six men are charged with raping the woman in the back seat of the same car.
Two Emirati suspects, including the alleged victim's friend, appeared in court while the other four are being tried in absentia. Both men pleaded not guilty, while the woman, who has been in custody since she reported the attack, pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
Sex outside wedlock is punishable in Muslim United Arab Emirates. The woman was not represented by a lawyer and no members of her family were in court during Monday's hearing, the daily said. - AFP
