Dubai: A student has escaped a death sentence and was sentenced to life in jail for kidnapping and raping a girl whom he had promised to marry.

The Dubai Court of First Instance’s three-judge panel did not agree unanimously on the death sentence and hence jailed the 24-year-old Emirati student, F.Q., for life.

Dubai prosecutors sought the capital punishment against the convict, who was accused of abusing his relationship with his countrywoman after he promised to marry her.

Then he was said to have lured her to what he called their ‘marriage house’ before he used all sort of physical violence, grounded her in a bedroom and raped her.

“The court has sentenced F.Q. to life in jail,” said Presiding judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi in court on Wednesday.

The verdict sheet read that the defendant deserved capital punishment, which was not agreed upon unanimously by the three judges.

“The severity of the crime and viciousness of the convict did not leave room for any sort of leniency. According to article 218 of the Criminal Procedures Law, F.Q. deserved capital punishment… however the court has decided to reduce the capital punishment to life in jail for lack of unanimity on the death sentence [as per the Penal Code’s article 88],” according to the verdict sheet.

When the defendant appeared in court, he denied kidnapping his 28-year-old countrywoman, dragging her by force into a villa after he claimed that he wanted to show her their marriage house.

F.Q. also denied the accusation of assaulting the woman and forcing her to go up to the first floor where he raped her.

His lawyer contended before the court that his client had consensual sex with the victim and did not rape her.

“I refuse to describe the woman as a victim, but she is a claimant. She willingly came to my client’s house. She agreed to go up to his room and stayed there from 8.30am until 4pm. She was not pushed or forced to go up to the room,” contended the defence.

Prosecutors said the woman was said to have agreed to see the house without being aware of the suspect’s intentions.

In her prosecution statement, she said she was not planning to go inside and told prosecutors that she kept her car engine switched on as she did not plan to stay long.

Prosecutors said the accused dragged the woman to the first floor and compelled her to undress before he raped her. He beat her and threatened to tear off her abaya and send her back home where her parents would ask her what had happened.

Prosecution records said F.Q. slapped the woman repeatedly and grabbed her by the back of her neck when she tried to resist him and leave the room.

Records said the suspect is a friend of a brother of the woman.

“F.Q. claimed that he had an accident and wanted to go abroad for treatment. He alleged that we would be getting married immediately after he returned from his medical trip. On that day he insisted on my visiting his aunt’s house where he claimed that we would live after we marry. He used all means of brutality and force when he raped me…,” claimed the woman.

Wednesday’s judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.