British Woman Assaulted, Then Jailed in Dubai

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest building, the very pinnacle of modern architecture. It was just recently unveiled and, given the considerable investments poured into it and its exquisite style, it is already becoming the hot spot for tourists from all over the world. A couple of British citizens, though, won’t be seeing it any time soon, as both have been jailed for having broken the law by sleeping together in the same hotel room, The Sun says.

This is one of those stories that is already stirring up quite a debate, for the British woman, who had just been asked her hand in marriage by her fiancé, was assaulted by a male waiter only hours before her arrest, the report says. She and her soon-to-be husband were celebrating the engagement at their hotel when the assault took place. Next day, they went to the police to report that she’d been raped, and they were both jailed for the offense of having relations outside marriage, which is considered a crime as per the laws of the emirate, the British publication informs.

“There have been some truly appalling injustices in Dubai but this one tops the lot. A desperate, distressed rape victim went with her boyfriend to report the attack to police. And both wound up behind bars. The police and authorities in Dubai have shamed themselves by yet again displaying a breathtaking lack of compassion and humanity,” a diplomatic source confirms for The Sun.

When the couple reported the assault, police officials and even the medics altogether “shunned” standards rape procedures, it is further being said. Instead, they only focused on the fact that the two British citizens were sleeping together and on the amount of alcohol they had ingested the night before. Moreover, the report stresses, most of the questions for the victim centered on whether she and her fiancé were having relations outside marriage. This eventually led to the woman being charged for illegal relations, a crime punishable by up to six years in jail under the law in the emirate.

The woman and her fiancé were also charged with “illegal drinking outside licensed premises.” The waiter, believed to be Syrian, is denying all accusations of assault, yet he too was charged for engaging in illegal relations. It is believed that the British couple is now out on bail, but the two were freed only after spending several nights in jail, The Sun goes on to say. A spokesperson for the hotel they were staying at can confirm that a police investigation is ongoing.

As The Sun informs, this is not the first time that British citizens are jailed in Dubai on such charges, though it is a first in terms of authorities completely ignoring a rape accusation, in what can only be an utter “lack of compassion,” as the unnamed diplomatic source put it. 

*Update: Reports in the British media say the assaulted woman was “advised” by authorities in Dubai to drop her rape accusation and then be quick to marry her British fiancé if she wants to go free. Unless she agrees to this, she will remain in Dubai and perhaps in prison too until the trial begins. The British Embassy is reportedly preparing to wed the couple in a fortnight.

“It’s a living nightmare – I can’t believe this is happening to me. I always dreamed of a big family wedding in Britain, but now I just want to get married so I can get out of here. I’ve done nothing wrong but I’m petrified of rotting in jail,” the 23-year-old British woman is telling friends, as per reports in the media.