Woman tells Dubai court of kidnap and rape ordeal at hands of two men

DUBAI // A woman was kidnapped and raped, then threatened with death if she told anyone, a Dubai court heard on Sunday.

The Sri Lankan woman said she was waiting for a taxi at 7pm on September 29 last year when a Pakistani, 31, stopped his car and offered her a lift.

“When I said no, he just got out of his car and dragged me into it,” the woman said. “It was then that I noticed another man in the car.”

She said that when the two stopped at a petrol station, she tried to run away but was restrained and beaten.

The pair drove to a remote area near Global Village and took turns raping her as she resisted and fought back, she said.

“They asked for my phone number to meet and have sex again. I was scared and had no other choice but to give them my number,” she said. The woman said she was told they would kill her if she said anything about what happened, especially to police. She was dropped off in Al Quoz and walked to her flat.

“The next morning, one of them called me and was angry that I went to the police. I hung up,” she said.

One of the men was arrested the next morning but the other remains at large. Prosecutors said the woman identified the man, who had been arrested three times.

A medical report confirmed that her bruises were consistent with her story and DNA samples from her body matched the defendant’s. Other DNA samples are thought to be that of the second attacker.

“An arrest team was set up and with the help of the victim’s colleagues, the defendant was arrested,” said an Emirati policeman.

The defendant was not present at Dubai Criminal Court to enter a plea on charges of kidnap and rape.

The next hearing has been scheduled for February 22 to summon him.

salamir@thenational.ae