Student jailed for kidnapping, raping housewife

Dubai: A student has been jailed for six months for kidnapping a housewife and raping her at knifepoint in a dark alley in Jumeirah.

The 19-year-old Sudanese student, H.F., forced the Emirati housewife, 22, to a car, then drove off with his countryman, H.E., to a poorly lit area near Mercato Mall where they both had sex with her in December 2013.

Earlier this year, the Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the Sudanese defendants of kidnap and rape at knifepoint and threat.

H.F. was sentenced in absentia to six months in jail followed by deportation.

H.E. was handed a six-month imprisonment, a ruling which he has challenged before the Dubai Appeal Court.

The duo pleaded not guilty and alleged that they had consensual sex with the Emirati woman.

After he was sentenced in absentia, the 19-year-old surrendered himself and requested a retrial, as per the Criminal Procedures Law.

During his retrial, the student pleaded not guilty and denied kidnapping the woman and raping her at knifepoint.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal jailed H.F. for six months. The 19-year-old defendant was handed a lenient punishment due to his age. He also faces deportation.

Court records said the duo took advantage of the fact that the area where they stopped was poorly lit and empty before they had sex with the woman against her will.

The housewife said she was sitting at the entrance of the building where she lives in Al Bidaa when H.F. lured her to the car.

“He asked me to go with him for dinner, but I refused. Then he promised not to touch me and insisted that I join him. When I rejected his offer, he pulled me in into the vehicle that H.E. drove. H.F. threatened to pour a substance over me that causes tears if I opened the door … I felt scared.

“H.E. stopped before a house near Mercato Mall and stepped out of the car … H.F. asked me why I was scared and confused. When I asked him to take me home, he refused. I got out of the car … and they walked me into the dark back streets. H.F. asked me to have sex with them, but I refused. When I tried to run away, H.E. stopped me.

“I had earlier contacted 999, but the call remained on hold. Then they raped me consecutively … after which they left me and walked away. I lay on the ground crying until I spotted an Iranian person going out from a nearby house … he helped me and called the police,” claimed the woman.

The Iranian told the prosecutors that he found the Emirati crying around 1.30am.

A policeman testified that the woman told him that she became acquainted to H.E. via Blackberry.

“We summoned the defendants for questioning … they claimed that the housewife went with them for a ride and offered to have paid sex with them. The duo said they had consensual sex with her and that she fabricated the rape allegations because they did not pay her,” he said.

H.F. has already appealed his primary ruling.