A UK tourist was arrested and charged in Dubai for having “extra-marital sex” after she reported being gang raped by two British men.
The 25-year-old woman was on holiday in the United Arab Emirates when the alleged attack took place last month.
The woman was allegedly arrested for breaking Emirati laws against extramarital sex when she reported the rape to local police.
Her passport was confiscated by authorities before she was released on bail, while her alleged attackers have since flown home to Birmingham, according to The Sun, which reportedly spoke to a family friend of the victim.
The UK-based Detained in Dubai campaign group is in contact with the woman’s family, who claim the two men took it in turns to rape her while filming the attack at a hotel.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was aware of the case and was providing support to the woman and her relatives, as well as remaining in contact with local authorities.
Its travel advice for the UAE says all sexual relations outside marriage are considered illegal, whatever a couple’s relationship at home, alongside homosexual sex and same-sex marriages.
“It’s against the law to live together, or to share the same hotel room, with someone of the opposite sex to whom you aren’t married or closely related,” the advice states.