Gang rape: Witnesses to be heard on Sept. 6

14 men accused of sexually assaulting a Thai woman

Manama

 Prosecution witnesses will take the stand before the High Criminal Court on September 6 in the trial of 14 men accused of gang raping a woman.  The Thai woman was reportedly sexually assaulted by the men in three different locations, including inside a vehicle in less than 24 hours on January 30 this year. 

 The woman was offered BD40,000 by the defendants' families, who were hoping to settle the case out the courtroom, according to legal sources.

 It's not clear whether she accepted the money or not, but a lawyer confirmed to DT News earlier that cases in this nature could not be removed from the court unless the Public Prosecution withdraws them. 

 According to court files, the victim was initially abducted by the first and second defendants while she was heading to her Juffair home. "I was walking alone in Juffair when two men approached me. When I spurned their advance to have sex with me, they forcefully dragged me inside the car," the defendant said in her statement. 

 She added that they had taken her to the third defendant's house in A'ali, where she was raped by 10 of the defendants. "After they raped me, I was robbed by the house owner of my mobile phone and 1,000 Saudi riyals (BD100). Then before another man (the eleventh defendant) took me to his car, where he raped me also.” 

 "He then drove me to a farm, where I was again sexually assaulted by three other men. I had a ring in my finger which was also stolen by the car owner,” she added.

 The victim's boyfriend, who was in UAE on the day of the incident, told prosecutors that she had texted him for help.

"She shared with me her location before her phone switched off. I called up my friend in Bahrain so he could check what was wrong with her," he told prosecutors. "When he reached a place, some men were there. He asked them if they had seen a Thai woman in the neighborhood, they replied negatively," he added. But it turned out that they were some of the men who raped the woman, according to court files.