Abu Dhabi: An Arab woman has been awarded Dh800,000 for the psychological and financial damage she suffered after being kidnapped, raped and left alone in the desert, the Abu Dhabi Civil Court of Appeals said today (Tuesday).
The first defendant, a GCC national, and the father of the second suspect, aged 17, will share payment of the amount and will serve six years and one year in prison respectively.
The pair had kidnapped the victim from a location outside her Dubai-based office building when they asked her for directions. They then sprayed a numbing substance in her face before putting her in their vehicle.
When the woman woke up, she found herself in the desert with the second man sleeping next to her. The first defendant then yelled at the woman that his ‘younger brother’ was possessed and in a coma and asked her to read Quranic verses to him.
She obeyed his orders until they reached deeper into the desert where the second man woke up suddenly as the vehicle came to a stop. The men took the woman out of the car before beating and raping her in turn for three hours. The medical examiner found bruises on the woman’s body and skin under her fingernails.
Afterwards, the first defendant took the woman’s bag and burnt its contents, including documents and a mobile phone. The men then left the victim in the desert alone at night with minimal clothing.
The victim walked a long distance, guided by the lights she saw until she reached the main road. Police and ambulance vehicles were sent to the scene and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers managed to track down the perpetrators’ vehicle through security cameras nearby.
The woman had initially approached the Civil Court asking for Dh1 million in compensation for her lost virginity and the cancellation of a marital agreement that was scheduled to take place in addition to the lifelong ruin of her reputation, court documents said.
She had also gone for treatment which caused her to be absent from work. The circumstances of the crime finally led the court to rule the Dh800,000 compensation amount for the men’s lack of mercy on the woman and their cruelty in leaving her in the desert.
The Court of Misdemeanour had initially sentenced the GCC national to life in prison on the charges of rape and kidnapping in addition to three years for stealing the victim’s bag and damaging its contents. Meanwhile, the second suspect received a 10-year sentence and deportation for being a legal minor and an adult according to Sharia. These rulings were adjusted to six years for the first defendant and one year with deportation for the second at the court of appeals.
