Students who raped woman they met on BlackBerry messenger jailed in Dubai

Sudanese pair said the Emirati woman was a prostitute but told police she was raped after they did not pay her but a Dubai court threw out their claims.

DUBAI // Two students have been found guilty of raping a woman who later sought refuge in the house of a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary, a court heard on Tuesday.

Sudanese men H F, 19, and H A, 23, kidnapped and threatened the Emirati before taking turns to rape her in a dark street in Jumeirah.

H F was jailed for six months, while H A is to serve one year.

Both had denied the accusations, saying that the sex was consensual and for cash but when they failed to produce the money she decided to tell police that she had been raped.

The 22-year-old woman met one of students through BlackBerry messenger.

“On December 20, 2013, he asked that we meet under my building and we did,” she said, adding that he invited her to dinner but when she refused he pulled her into a car driven by his friend.

The woman said she resisted and asked them to stop but they threatened her with tear gas and a sword.

The students then took her to Jumeirah and stopped the car in a dark street. She tried to run away but they gave chase and caught her. “They asked that I have sex with them and, when I refused, they raped me,” she said.

The woman then ran to a nearby villa and asked its owner for help.

Iranian businessman K T, 47, said: “It was my wedding anniversary and we were having a party and after the guests left I saw the woman entering the villa crying and she asked for help.”

Police were called and arrested the two defendants.

Emirati policeman E A, 25, said: “One of them said that she offered them sex for Dh200 and after he and his friend finished they didn’t pay her the money and left so she fabricated the rape story as revenge.”

The pair will be deported after completing their sentences, which were handed down by Dubai Criminal Court.