UAE: American Tourist Raped In A Dubai Marina Hotel

An employee has been jailed for six months for engaging in sexual intercourse with a tourist, who claimed that she was raped in her hotel room after inviting him over for a drink.

The 24-year-old American tourist was in town for a three-day holiday when she met the 29-year-old Moroccan employee on board a Dubai-bound flight in December.

The 29-year-old defendant and the American woman became friends and she invited him over for a drink at her hotel room in Dubai Marina.

Having obtained prior permission to bring over his cousin, the two Moroccans visited the tourist at her luxurious hotel room where they drank liquor all night.

When the 24-year-old woman woke up in the morning, she claimed to have realised that she had been raped.

Once she went out of her bed and walked into the main hall, the two men left the hotel immediately.

The American woman complained to the police and alleged that the accused had asked her for a phone charger and, when she took him to her room, he punched her and forced himself on her.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the accused of having sex with the 24-year-old American.

Presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi said the accused, who contended that he had consensual sex with the victim, will be deported.

The 24-year-old tourist testified that she invited the accused over to her room after they became friends on the aircraft.

He took permission to accompany his cousin and we drank liquor all night. When he asked me for a phone charger, I accompanied him to the bedroom to give him the charger … he punched me and I lost consciousness. As I woke up in the morning, I noticed that I had been undressed and raped.

There were traces of semen on my thigh … once I walked out to the room, they both left instantly. I went out of the room and alerted the hotel’s security about what had happened. I also told them that my Dh5,500, earrings and passport were stolen, she testified.

A policeman said the hotel’s front desk manager notified them that a problem happened between the tourist and her Moroccan visitors after they got drunk.

The ruling remains subject to appeal.


Tourism Observer