A British tourist has been arrested in Dubai on charges of extramarital sex after telling police she was raped by a group of British nationals while in the United Arab Emirates, according to a UK-based legal advice group called Detained in Dubai.
“This is tremendously disturbing,” Radha Stirling, the group’s founder and director, said in a statement. “Police regularly fail to differentiate between consensual intercourse and violent rape.
“Victims go to them expecting justice, and end up being prosecuted. They not only invalidate their (victimization); they actually punish them for it.”
A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman said she could not discuss specific details, saying: “We are supporting a British woman in relation to this case and will remain in contact with her family.”
It is understood that the Foreign Office is also in contact with two other British nationals.
The press office for the British Consulate in Dubai said it was supporting a British woman and her family, adding: “We have raised the case with the UAE Government, and would like to see it progress as quickly as possible.”
Dubai is one of seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates, or UAE.
According to Detained in Dubai, the woman was “gang-raped” by the British nationals.
Stirling said the woman had been released on bail but had had her passport confiscated.
The Government of Dubai Media Office told CNN on Saturday it had no comment on the case.
A spokesman for Dubai police said he was unable to comment because the case was before the courts.