7 prisoners plead not guilty to raping inmate

dubai — Seven inmates pleaded not guilty in the Court of First Instance on Wednesday to the charge of gang-raping a fellow prisoner.

The seven men, including five Emiratis, a Sudanese and a Comoros Islands passport holder, were accused of sexually assaulting the Emirati man on two occasions in the course of two days at Al Aweer central prison.

The seven accused, aged between 19 and 22, allegedly intimidated the victim by threatening to physically assault him.

The victim, 24, said four of them took turns raping him on June 30, 2016. “They came to my cell around 3 am. I felt afraid of what they could do to hurt me after the main defendant threatened me. I tried to report them right after that to the jail wardens but I could not.”

Around the same time the following

They came to my cell around 3am. I felt afraid of what they could do to hurt me after the main defendant threatened me“The victim

day, the main accused with three others sexually assaulted him one after the other, the 24-year-old inmate said. He complained against them without letting them notice. The forensic report revealed the victim was in fact sexually assaulted at the time he complained to the jail police.

Some of the inmates on trial claimed during public prosecution investigation they had sex with the complainant with his own consent. The trial has been adjourned to March 29.

mary@khaleejtimes.com