Post date: Jul 21, 2013 3:40:1 PM
A 24-year-old Norwegian woman speaks about a 16-month prison sentence she faces in Dubai after reporting a rape incident to the police. She is appealing the sentence after being charged with sex outside marriage, drinking alcohol and filing a false statement.
DUBAI, UAE (JULY 21, 2013) (REUTERS) - A Norwegian woman expressed her disbelief on Sunday (July 21) over a 16-month jail sentence handed down to her in Dubai after she reported an alleged rape incident.
24-year-old interior designer Marte Dalelv reported to police that she was raped by her male colleague, but was herself charged with extramarital sex, drinking alcohol and filing a false statement.She has now gone public with her story to warn other expats.
The news dominated front pages in Norway, and raised questions on how fair the judicial system is in the United Arab Emirates when dealing with rape cases.
The Norwegian government condemned the verdict and talks have taken place between Norway's foreign minister Espen Barth Eide and his counterpart in theUAE Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The incident happened on March 6 when Dalelv, who works for an interior design firm in Qatar, was on a work trip with a group of her colleagues in Dubai.
On the last day of the business trip Dalelv joined a group of her colleagues for drinks, and things took a wrong turn when Dalelv, who had been drinking alcohol, asked one of her male colleagues to escort her up to her hotel room.
Speaking to Reuters she described what she alleges happened next.
"(He was) trying to convince me to come in to his room and again I said 'no' and that's when he start pulling my bag trying to drag me to his room. So I just thought I need to calm the situation down, so I walked in with him and I sat down and want to drink my bottle of water; I thought I finish this water and find my room by myself that's the last thing I remember. And the following morning I woke up on my stomach, my clothes were off and I was being raped at, when I woke up," Dalelv said.
Following the incident, Dalelv immediately went down to the hotel reception and asked them to call the police because she's been raped.
"Of course I wanted to call the police, this was my natural reaction, that's what we are trained for back home we do that when we were little kids, whenever something wrong, something is happen to you call the police straight away, so that was my instincts," she said.
A group of male policemen arrived on the scene and took a statement from Dalelv and the alleged rapist, then they were both taken to the Bur Dubai police station.
At the station one of the police officers asked Dalelv if she had not enjoyed the intercourse and if that was the reason behind her report.
Dalev who claims she had been through anal and vaginal rape, was then taken for a fully medical examination, where she said the results revealed that she was sexually assaulted and suffered some limited bruising.
She was then held for four days in a Dubai prison until contact was made with the Norwegian consulate and her bail was arranged, however her passport is still being held by authorities.
"If I did not call the police he (her alleged attacker) will be still free but then I also wouldn't be in this situation," said Dalelv who has been staying at the Norwegian Seaman's Center in Dubai.
She now faces three charges; sex outside of marriage, illegal consumption alcohol and giving a false statement to the police.
Her alleged attacker has also received a sentence of a year in prison, however Dalelv did not know if he had appealed.
A rights group had setup a petition calling for the release of Dalelv; so far more than 7000 people have signed it.
During the appeal session that will take place in September, Dalelv said her Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud Assab advised her to plead guilty for the illegal consumption of alcohol and innocent for the two other charges, which she says will result in a one month prison sentence.
However she remains disappointed by the way the judicial system in Dubai deal with rape cases.
"I am very surprised we have DNA report, we have a medical report and we have a witness, it is also being clarified and it is been proved that he has been lying the whole time in court in front of the judge and still they did not believe me, that was very shocking," she said.
Dubai is known as a tourist hotspot and around 90 percent of its residents are expatriates, but the emirate has strict Islamic laws and traditions similar to those ofSaudi Arabia.