Acquittal of two men in attempted rape case upheld by Dubai appeal court

A Moroccan tourist claimed she was offered a lift home by the two Syrians but they instead took her to a flat where they tried to rape her but the court disagreed with her version of events.

DUBAI // Prosecutors have lost their appeal against the acquittal of two men in an attempted rape case.

Syrians D H, 36, and K A, 43, were referred to Dubai Criminal Court on a charge of attempted rape of a Moroccan tourist, which both men denied in September.

On November 8, the court found them not guilty, a verdict prosecutors appealed.

A K said she arrived in the UAE in July looking for business opportunities and stayed in an Al Rashidiya villa with other women.

On August 1, the 26-year-old left a hotel cafe at about 3.30am and was waiting for a taxi when a Mercedes-Benz stopped and the driver offered her a lift.

“He told me my destination was on his way and I wouldn’t find a cab at that hour. I got into his car only to see that another man was in the back seat.”

It was alleged that the men drove to their flat instead of taking her home and told her that they needed to change their clothes before dropping her off. She joined them in their flat.

She told prosecutors she hesitated at first but then accompanied them because she did not think they would harm her.

“When we were at the door, one of them pushed me inside the flat while the other pulled me by my hair,” she alleged.

“I fought back and resisted but I fell to the ground. Then they threw me on a bed and ripped my clothes off before one of them banged my head on the wall. I fainted and only woke up to them spraying my face with water.”

After regaining consciousness she said the men forced her into a bathroom and took her purse and mobile phone when she tried to make a call.

“I started screaming as one of them was trying to gag me. I managed to run away and call police.”

Thirty minutes later, police arrived and the woman was taken to hospital for treatment. The men were arrested the next day.

“Her shirt’s buttons were damaged and she had some bruises on her knees,” said policeman H A.

Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the acquittals. No reason for the verdict was available.