Qatari court convicts Dutch woman after alleged rape
Tourist given suspended prison sentence and fined after telling police she had been attacked in a Doha hotel
A court in Qatar has convicted a Dutch woman of having sex outside marriage after she told police she had been raped.
The 22-year-old from Utrecht was given a one-year prison sentence, suspended for three years, and fined 3,000 riyal (£600).
A lawyer for the woman, who had been holidaying in the country, said her drink had been spiked during a night out at a Doha hotel in March. She woke up in an unfamiliar apartment and realised she had been sexually assaulted.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, after reporting the assault to police, she was detained on charges of committing illicit sex acts and held for three months.
Her alleged attacker, identified by Al Jazeera as Omar Abdullah al-Hasan, claimed the sex was consensual.
He was also convicted of having sex outside of marriage and sentenced to 100 lashes, plus 40 for consuming alcohol. He will reportedly be deported to his home country of Syria.
A Qatari court official told Al Jazeera the woman's sentence was "lenient".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"Had she been a Muslim woman, she would have received at least five years in jail," he said. "No one can get out of such charges here in Qatar."
The case has only came to light this week after the woman's family decided to go public.
Her mother told Dutch news programme EenVandaag that her daughter was going through a "nightmare" ordeal.
On learning that she would be deported, the mother said: "I'm shaking in my legs. I can't believe it. She has been sentenced. I don't know for what but I don't care. This is the best I could have wished for."
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Has Israel’s Qatar strike scuppered a ceasefire?Today’s Big Question Netanyahu ‘gambles’ on ‘overwhelming strength’ rather than diplomacy in attack on Hamas negotiation team in Doha
-
Israel targets Hamas leaders in Qatar airstrikeSpeed Read Hamas said five low-level leaders were killed in the attack
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024

