Norwegian Woman Jailed in Dubai for Reporting Rape
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Alex Hamasaki, Student InternLast Modified: 00:32 a.m. DST, 17 August 2013
DUBAI, UAE - A Norwegian woman was slapped with jail after reporting to the police in Dubai that she had been raped. Her sentence is longer than her convicted rapist’s.
During her business trip to Dubai, the woman found herself jailed for the consumption of alcohol and for having sex outside of marriage. The exact circumstances remain unclear, however. The Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that she had her passport taken away, and that she was unable to use a phone for three days.
After finally contacting her family, her family mobilized the Foreign Ministry and Norway’s consulate in Dubai. Both organizations were able to get her out of jail and housed at the local Norwegian Seamans Church, where she remained until she received her sentence: one year and four months. Anniken Meling of the Seamans Church told NRK that her attacker was only sentenced for one year and one month.
Alicia Gali was also faced with a similar situation earlier this year, when she was targeted and raped by three of her colleagues.
Gali had signed a managerial contract with an American-owned company named Starwood Hotels, who offered to pay for her ticket and accommodations. Shortly after Gali reached her hotel in Dubai, her colleagues purposely sabotaged her sink so that it would flood, forcing Gali to leave her room, where she entered the hotel’s bar. The colleagues then added additional ice to her drink, where she blacked out and woke up naked in her room.
According to the Blaze, when she wanted to go home, she was told by a senior manager that she owed a “debt” to them since they had paid for her flight and accommodations. The hotel was also holding her passport, which prevented Gali from leaving the country as advised by the Australian consulate.
Gali was sentenced for 11 months for sex outside of marriage, and 1 month for drinking alcohol. Two of the accused rapists received the same sentence, while the third got an extra month.
After eight months, Gali was pardoned and allowed to go home, along with her rapists.
Local laws in Dubai include laws against extramarital sex and drinking alcohol in public places. Additionally according to the Qur’an (2:282), a woman’s testimony is only worth of half that of a man’s in court. Without four witnesses, according to the Qur’an (24:13), the accuser is considered the liar in the eyes of Allah. Though rape is considered piracy of the body or hirabah, without witnesses, women in this situation are considered to actually be confessing to having sex.
Follow Alex Hamasaki on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Student Intern: @aghamasaki
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