Final verdict on French boy’s sodomy case

The Dubai Court of Cassation is expected to give its verdict on April 7 in the French boy’s sodomy case that attracted media attention not only in the UAE but also in the West.

The court hearing took place on April 1 in the presence of all the five judges, who will issue the final verdict.

The Court of Cassation has been studying the verdicts of the lower courts which handed out 15-year jail terms to each of the two men found guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the French boy.

The Dubai Court of Appeals had upheld the 15-year jail sentence awarded to the two by the Court of First Instance.

The three defendants in the case are A.K., 35, who is suffering from AIDS, I.M.,18, and I.S., 17, who was referred to the Juveniles Court.

The case dates back to July 14 of last year when the French boy, identified as A.R., and his friend F.K. were offered a ride by a local teenager. The latter called two other friends and drove to a desolate stretch in the desert and took turns in sodomising him. F.K., however, was kept away from the vehicle.

The appellate court had also upheld the referral of the victim’s Dh15-million compensation claim to the Civil Court.
According to the judicial procedure, the Court of Cassation can either uphold the verdicts of the lower courts or revert the case to the appellate court for a fresh trial. Source

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Three jailed in rape and robbery case

Two Emiratis, identified as F.S. and H.S., have been found guilty of abduction, rape and robbery.
The Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday sentenced them to five years in jail.
A third accused in the case, M.A., also UAE national, has been awarded one year sentence, while the fourth accused, an Emirati teenager, had already been referred to the Juvenile Court.
All the convicts, unemployed and in their early twenties, were charged with kidnapping and raping a 25-year-old Ethiopian housemaid, identified as T.D. on September 19, 2006.
They were also accused of robbing her.
They had pleaded not guilty all along.

T.D. and witnesses had earlier testified in the court that on September 19, 2006, she accompanied a family that was going to see a villa in the Barsha area around 9.30pm.

The family wanted to take the villa on rent. While they were inspecting the accommodation, they heard a knock on the door.

Four people were at the doorstep. One of them produced an ID and claimed to be a police officer. They dragged T.D. to their car while warning the others to not interfere.

The group took T.D. to a sandy location in the same locality and took turns to rape her. They also snatched her bag containing Dh1,200. Source

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Two cops get life term for rape

The Dubai Court of First Instance has sentenced two policemen - 25-year-old Yemeni identified as AS and 23-year-old Emirati identified as SM, to life in prison for being found guilty of rape.

Judge Abdul Majeed Mohammed Al Nazami also ordered the first accused to be deported after serving the sentence.

According to court records, the duo accosted an Uzbek woman, identified as AK, when she was walking toward her house in Freej Al Murar in the wee hours of a morning in July 2007. Since the woman was under the influence of liquor and had been illegally staying in the UAE, she tried to run away from the policemen. However, the duo pursued the woman to her apartment building and pinned her down in the staircase. Both of them then raped her one by one. Source

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15-year jail for three for raping women

The Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday sentenced two men, M., 31, and R., 26, to 15 years in jail, followed by deportation, on the charges of rape.
As per court records, the two men had kidnapped A. on her way home in April last year. They drove her to their apartment, where they sexually assaulted her several times.

In another case of rape, the Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday ordered A., 23, to serve 15 years in prison, for being found guilty of raping B. The accused, with another accomplice, still at large, offered the victim a lift home in April last year. They took her to a remote area in the desert, where they raped her. Source

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French boy’s rapists jailed for 15 years

The Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday sentenced two Emiratis to 15 years in jail for kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old French boy.
“The court has sentenced the elder accused (36), who is HIV positive, and the other UAE national (18) to 15 years in jail,” Hussein Al Jaziri, the French boy’s lawyer, told Khaleej Times.

A juvenile court in Dubai is trying the third accused, 17. His trial is due to resume on December 25. Last month, the court had permitted the minor to take a psychological test.
Al Jaziri added: “The Dubai Court of First Instance has referred our Dh15 million compensation claim to the Dubai Civil Court.” The prosecution would appeal for a tougher sentence against the two men. Source

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Court hears woman’s rape case

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard the case of a 21-year-old Ethiopian woman who was allegedly raped by two men, including a UAE national, in their car, near Jumeirah Park, on September 23 last. The victim, B.M.Z, told the court that she was tricked by the 23-year-old Emirati, W.A, and his friend, into getting into the Emirati’s car.

The accused had offered to drop her home while she was in a shopping mall. However, the two suspects drove the car towards a deserted area near Jumeirah Park and raped her.
The woman also said that the two suspects dropped her near her house but not before snatching away her mobile and Dh600.
Medical tests of the victim had confirmed rape. During his police interrogation, W.A had confessed to raping the woman under the influence of alcohol. The national has been charged with kidnap, rape, theft and consuming of alcohol. Source

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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

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Death sentence sought for boy’s rape suspects

The Dubai Court of First Instance yesterday started the trial hearings of three UAE nationals, I.M. (15), A.A. (35), and A.G. (19), who allegedly kidnapped and raped a 15-year-old boy and French national, APC, in July this year.
The victim and his friend had left a beach café in Dubai to find a taxi. However, I.M. who was in the vicinity and who knew the victim greeted him and offered them a ride. After about 15 minutes, I.M. called the two other suspects who told the victim they have to go to some other place before they will drop him. They then drove towards Ibn Batutta mall.

However, APC whose suspicions were aroused called 999. I.M. and the two other accused who heard him talking to the police snatched the mobile phone and abused and threatened the French teenager. The three accused then drove to a deserted area in Al Barsha and APC’s friend to step out. They then threatened APC at knife-point and raped him.
Later, I.M. called his cousin to come to help pull out the car that had got stuck in loose sand. APC was to hide inside the car and not to raise any kind of alarm. APC was later dropped near the Beach Hotel in Jumeirah and immediately called his friend to inform him of what had happened.
During yesterday court hearing the Public Prosecution requested the court to sentence all three suspects to death. However, all three accused have pleaded not guilty on both counts of kidnapping and rape.
The next court hearing has been fixed for October 31. Source

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