French boy recounts rape ordeal in court

A 15-year-old French boy, who was allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by three UAE nationals, was in tears in the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday as he described the ordeal he went through.
The boy’s mother was also in the court yesterday.

According to court records, the trio lured the boy and one of his friends, who is also 15, into their car and took them to a remote area in Al Barsha, Dubai. The accused forced the friend of the victim out of the car and two of them took turns to rape the boy while the third kept a watch.
The third accused is a minor. He was the one who lured the two French teenagers to the defendants and did not take part in the rape. He has been referred to the juvenile court to stand trial.

The friend of the victim also testified in the court yesterday.
The court proceedings were closed to the public on the request of the lawyer of the two victims, Hussein Al Jazeeri, whose plea was based on the provision of article 161 of the Penal Procedures Act.
In his argument for holding the hearing in-camera, Al Jazeeri said the two victims are still minors and the incidents are related to public manners and would leave a bad impact on the two boys.
Al Jazeeri said the boy burst into tears as he narrated the sequence of events on the fateful day before the single-judge bench and glanced to the mother several times.
The court adjourned the hearing to November 11 to hear the testimonies of two other witnesses — the policeman who arrested the three defendants and the cousin of one of them who arrived at the scene to help them extricate the car, which got stuck in the sands.

Mother and son want to return home at earliest
By Preeti Kannan
DUBAI — Dressed in formals, the 15-year-old French boy and his mother appeared for the first time for the hearing that had reconvened at the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday morning.
The boy, A.R., and his mother, V.R., accompanied by their lawyer entered the courtroom looking sombre. Several local and international reporters had also gathered outside the court.
The mother and son had flown in from Switzerland early yesterday morning for the court hearing.
As the trial was held behind closed doors, the media persons had to wait expectantly till the duo emerged from the courtroom.
When they appeared with their lawyer after a couple of hours, the boy looked extremely flushed, while the mother, who had wrapped her hands protectively around him, broke down.
Seated in the court’s cafeteria, the three discussed the case in French.
Talking to reporters immediately after that, the mother recounted what her son had told the judge. She said they would like to return to Switzerland as soon as possible as the boy has to resume school. Source