Nightmare': Another Tourist Raped in Dubai Then Jailed for Extra-Marital Sex

A Norwegian woman was sentenced to a year and four months in jail after reporting to authorities in Dubai that she was raped. Under the local Sharia-compliant justice system, sex outside of marriage is legally punishable, and according to media accounts in Norway, the woman’s attacker was given a shorter sentence than hers.

Norway’s News in English reports that the 25-year-old traveled to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in March, a trip that ended up becoming a “nightmare.” After reporting the rape to local authorities, the woman was then jailed herself for extramarital sex and for drinking alcohol, both forbidden under Islamic law.

The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) reports that the woman’s passport was confiscated for three days after she reported the sexual assault and that she was prohibited from making any telephone calls during that time.

File photo: Getty Images

When she was finally able to speak with her family in Norway, they contacted Norwegian consular officials who succeeded in getting her out of police custody. From there she moved into the Norwegian Seaman’s Church in Dubai while waiting for the legal drama to play out. Her sentence was handed down this week: a sixteen month prison term.

Adding further insult, her attacker was sentenced to less time, one year and one month, a representative of the Seaman’s Church told NRK.

“I received the harshest sentence for sex outside marriage, harshest sentence for drinking alcohol and on top of that I was found guilty of perjury,” the woman told Verdens Gang according to the Daily Mail.

The priest at the Norwegian Seaman’s Church Gisle Meling said, “It is a terrible situation she is in…We are very surprised and had hoped it would go another way, but we live in a country which has a justice system which draws its conclusions with the help of Sharia law.”

Daniel Greenfield of Front Page Magazine summarized the story this way: “In other words, rape is legal under Sharia. Being raped is illegal.”

The woman’s plight comes on the heels of a similar situation about which TheBlaze reported in May, in which Alicia Gali, then 22, was drugged and gang-raped by three of her colleagues at a Starwood hotel in Dubai. After seeking medical care, she was thrown in jail for eight months for sex outside of marriage.

Kjetil Elsebutangen of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told Verdens Gang that it provided consular assistance to the tourist from Norway but would not comment further on her individual case.

“The Foreign Ministry reported that Norway has no extradition treaty with Dubai, which was described as a Muslim police state. That means tourists and visitors are usually safe as long as they follow local laws. They include laws against extra-marital sex and drinking outside of restaurants and bars in the biggest hotels, leaving rape victims vulnerable. An appeal was pending,” reports Norway’s News in English.

The Daily Mail explains that under UAE law, “rapists can only be convicted if either the perpetrator confesses or if four adult Muslim males witness the crime. Under the Sharia-influenced laws, sex before marriage is completely forbidden and an unmarried couple holding hands in public can be jailed.”

Despite the Persian Gulf country’s violations of basic civil liberties, tourists continue flocking to the glitzy destination, including A-list celebrities like Justin Bieber who performed there in May and Kim Kardashian who last year called it “one of my favorite trips to date!”

The Norwegian media have not provided any further identifying details about the rape victim beyond her age.