by Patrick H. Moore
We assume that if someone is raped and if they report the crime and if their story checks out, then the rapist will go to prison. That’s the way it’s supposed to work and that’s the way it usually does work, at least in theory, here in the U.S. Well, that’s not the way it works in Dubai, the wealthy but socially backwards oil emirate on the Persian Gulf. A 24-year-old Norwegian woman found this out the hard way earlier this week when she was sentenced to 16 months in prison by a Dubai court for BEING RAPED.
Marte Deborah Dalelv, an interior designer, was in Dubai on a business venture in March of this year. On the surface, Dubai is a glittering wonderland of fancy clubs, restaurants and ultra-modern office buildings. She had been out for a night on the town with colleagues. Here it gets rather hazy but what is known is that Ms. Dalelv, who had been drinking, somehow got involved with the wrong party who ended up raping her. Or at least that’s what Ms. Dalelv told the police, and there appears to be no reason not to believe her story.
Upon reporting the crime, Ms. Dalelv, to her utter shock and horror, was hardly treated with respect. Far from it, the police immediately seized her passport and confiscated her money. Four days later, she was charged with having extramarital sex (which is a crime in Dubai). She was also charged with drinking alcohol (also a crime in Dubai) and perjury. Although she did have extramarital sex, albeit not willingly, and she may have admitted to drinking alcohol, it’s unclear where the perjury charge came from.
After receiving her sentence earlier this week, Ms. Dalelv has spoken out about what she has been through. She is appealing her verdict, which she has the right to do under Dubai law. The appeal is scheduled for early Septemeber. She stated that she is hopeful that the sentence will be overturned upon appeal.
The defendant stated to the AFP news agency:
“I am very nervous and tense. But I hope for the best and I take one day at a time. I just have to get through this.”
Ms. Dalelv also reported that her alleged attacker received a 13-month sentence for extra-marital sex and alcohol consumption.
The Middle East branch of BBC has reported that:
The case has angered rights groups and the authorities in Norway. The sentence has been condemned by Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide who is quoted as saying that it “flies in the face of our notion of justice” and was “highly problematic from a human rights perspective”. The Norwegian authorities are reportedly trying to contact the authorities in Dubai about the situation.
The Norwegian government had secured Ms. Dalelv’s conditional release at the time of her arrest. Since then, she has been living under the protection of the ________ _____ ______ _____. The defendant told Norway’s NRK News that following her sentencing on Tuesday she was now officially wanted by the Dubai authorities. ”I should have been imprisoned since Tuesday,” she said. “But I have been told they are not searching for me.”
The London-based Emirates Centre for Human Rights called on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to which Dubai belongs, to quash Ms Dalelv’s conviction. It said the UAE’s claims that it is attempting to end discrimination against women was undermined by a legal system that “prohibits the achievement of justice for cases of sexual violence against women”.
Bizarrely enough, the law stipulates that to gain a rape conviction, there must either be a confession or four adult male witnesses must have witnessed the crime. Thus, Ms. Davelv’s alleged attacker has not been convicted of rape. His sentence, which is three months less than the 24-year old Norwegian’s, is based solely on the extramarital sex and alcohol consumption charges.
In recent years, based primarily on its massive oil wealth, Dubai has been transformed from a sleepy desert region into a “five-star trade and tourism destination with its tax-free salaries and year-round sunshine.” It is now considered to be one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. The foreign workers and visitors greatly outnumbering the local population. But the fact is — it remains a deeply conservative region, and its strict laws have blindsided foreigners in the past. Public displays of affection and drunkenness are frowned upon and Ms. Dalelv is not the first westerner to run afoul of Dubai’s bizarrely draconian laws.
In recent years, five other individuals who received jail sentences in Dubai for what — by western standards — is incredibly innocuous behavior:
- An Australian woman, Alicia Gali, was jailed for eight months in 2008 for having extra-marital sex after complaining to the police that she had been drugged and raped by three co-workers.
- A British couple, Ayman Najafi and Charlotte Adams, were jailed for a month in 2010 after they shared what Mr Najafi described as an “innocuous peck on the cheek” in a restaurant. A witness said they had kissed on the mouth.
- Another British couple, Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer, were jailed for three months in 2008 for having sex on a public beach – an allegation they denied.
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In learning about this disturbing case, I am, of course, appalled and offended by Dubai’s cruel and antiquated laws and the clear discrimination against women that informs Ms. Davelv’s shabby treatment. But I am also struck by the fact that Ms. Davelv was apparently not sufficiently briefed on what “to do” and what “not to do” in a socially and legally backwards place like Dubai. Companies which send their employees to “parts unknown” have a responsibility to prepare then for what they may find there. Hopefully, Dubai will bow to the pressure being exerted by the Norwegian government and the London-based Emirates Centre for Human Rights and Ms. Davelv will ultimately be released — if not exonerated outright.
Notes on Dubai:
Oil was discovered in Dubai in 1966. This turned the city from a quiet fishing and pearl-exporting town to a rich oil sheikdom. Its oil supplies, however, are slowly running out, which led the royal family to transform the emirate into a financial center and tourist destination. This strategy has worked and today the emirate gets very little money from oil but its gross domestic product has grown steadily.