Mother of French rape victim thrown out of Dubai court

Presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir ordered policewomen to take out the woman who jumped from her seat and walked towards lawyer Rukoz Hobeika and shouted at him.

The mother stormed to the middle of the courtroom and screamed ‘shame on you!’ to Hobeika who was quoting a Swiss website in French language.

Earlier, addressing his defence before the Dubai Court of First Instance, Hobeika said: “This case has been a media war. The Public Prosecution should have conducted more serious investigations especially concerning the kidnap, threat and assault charges.”

The Public Prosecution charged 35-year-old Emirati, A.K., (whose medical reports confirmed that he has Aids and Hepatitis), his 18-year-old compatriot, I.M., and their 17-year-old compatriot teenager (being prosecuted at Juveniles Court) I.S., with deception and kidnapping the 15-year-old French student, A.R., and his 16-year-old compatriot, F.K., by offering to drive them home.

The suspects were charged with having a homosexual affair against A.R.'s will after threatening him with a knife and a stick.

“Where are the stick and the knife with which the victim claims to have been threatened? I.S. and A.R. had an intimate friendship. He had a particular agreement with A.R.

The 15-year-old and F.K. willingly jumped into I.S.’s car and without being threatened. I.S. confessed to what happened with A.R., unlike the other two suspects who denied their charges,” defended the court-assigned lawyer, Hobeika.

Meanwhile, lawyer Saeed al Ghailani, of Saeed al Ghailani Advocates and Legal Consultants, who volunteered to defend A.K. and I.M., said: “According to a forensic medical report, A.R.’s symptoms prove that he suffers from a disease (Al Ubna in Arabic) which makes him ask others to have sex with him but not otherwise. He has become an addict to submissive sex.

Therefore, he couldn’t have been forced to have sex with the suspects.”

Al Ghailani exclaimed: “Suppose A.K. had sex with him, why hasn’t he medically proven that he developed Hepatitis or Aids until now?”

Al Ghailani argued: “A.R. told the public prosecutors that he trusted his close friend, I.S., and that’s why they rode his car. The doctor, who examined A.R. less than 24 hours following the incident, reported that the victim’s body had no bruises, though he claimed he was beaten with a stick and assaulted.”

Hobeika and Al Ghailani said the French boys gave inconsistent and contradicting statements. The lawyers accused the public prosecution of fabricating evidence against the two men.

A verdict will be heard on December 12.