islamic justice arab style in dubai

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Woman arrested after rape complaint
January 4 2003
By Philip Delves
Broughton Paris


A French businesswoman who accused three men of gang rape has been arrested in Dubai and faces trial on charges of adultery.

Touria Tiouli, 39, from Limoges, in France, has had her passport confiscated and cannot leave Dubai after being charged under the emirate's sharia law.

This declares any sexual relationship outside marriage to be illegal.

Ms Tiouli was on a business trip last October when, she says, she was raped by three men who offered her a lift home from a nightclub. She reported the attack immediately to the Dubai police, who after investigating her claim arrested her rather than those she accused.

One of the men admitted to having "consensual sex" with Ms Tiouli, which made her, in the eyes of Dubai's judiciary, guilty of adultery and making a false rape accusation. She could face up to 18 months in jail. None of the men have been charged.



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Ms Tiouli was held in jail for five days and has since been staying at a hotel.

The government has taken her passport and will not let her leave the country until her trial, which has not been scheduled.

Friends in Limoges issued a statement from Ms Tiouli on Thursday.

It said that when she reported her rape to the police, "I was crying and I saw quickly that my story did not carry any weight with them".

She added: "I am frightened and I am not sleeping."

Her son, 14, is staying with friends in France.

Ms Tiouli, a divorcee, was born in Morocco but moved to France as a child and is a French citizen. This was her third visit to Dubai, where she worked on behalf of French luxury goods companies establishing links in the local market and dealing with the French consulate.

She believed her status as a French citizen with close ties to the consulate would lead to her rape complaint being taken seriously.

- Telegraph