Dubai: A has been accused of raping a saleswoman in his car after inviting her to a desert party for shisha, barbecue and drinking with friends, a court heard on Monday.

A common friend was said to have introduced the 33-year-old Filipina saleswoman to the 29-year-old Iranian in the end of 2016.

The Filipina received a WhatsApp message from the suspect around a year later, according to records, asking her go out with him and his friends for a barbecue and shisha night in the desert with.

The saleswoman first turned down his invite but after his insistence she agreed to go out with him for coffee only.

The suspect picked up the woman from a Dubai Metro station and drove towards a desert area, despite her refusal.

They remained in the desert till 3am smoking shisha, barbecuing and drinking, after which the saleswoman asked the suspect to drop her back home.

Instead of driving her home, the suspect allegedly raped her in his car. The saleswoman reported the matter to the police after which the suspect was arrested.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of raping the saleswoman.

The suspect pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.

“I did not do that,” he contended before presiding judge Urfan Omar.

His lawyer Saeed Al Gailani asked the court to hear the woman’s statement once the court reconvenes on September 3.

The saleswoman, who was present in courtroom three along with her lawyer, has lodged a civil lawsuit against the suspect and is seeking Dh21,000 in temporary compensation against her moral and emotional damages.

The saleswoman told prosecutors that the incident happened after she accepted the suspect’s invite for coffee.

“I had rejected his invite for a night out in the desert with his friends. He picked me up to go with him, as agreed earlier, for coffee … then he took me by surprise and headed to the desert to meet up with his friends. We had shisha, alcohol and barbecue and around 3am I asked him to drop me back home. Instead of dropping me back home, he opened the passenger’s seat, straightened it down and raped me. I kicked him and fought as much as possible to stop him but he overpowered me,” she told prosecutors.

The suspect was cited as admitting to prosecutors that he had consensual sex with the Filipina after inviting her out to the desert.