Three men have been convicted of repeatedly raping a woman on Brighton beach after she became separated from friends on a night out. The attack, described by prosecutors as “cynical, predatory and callous”, occurred in the early hours of 4 October last year.
Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, an Egyptian national, and Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, an Iranian national, were found guilty of two counts of rape at Hove Crown Court. Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, also Egyptian, was convicted of four counts of rape as a secondary party for encouraging and filming the assault. All three are seeking asylum in the UK.
The court heard that two of the men took the incapacitated woman behind a beach hut and raped her, while the third filmed the ordeal. Footage showed Alshafe smiling and slapping the victim. The defendants claimed the encounter was consensual, but the jury rejected their accounts after more than 16 hours of deliberation.
Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC told jurors: “To these defendants, the complainant was meat. They wanted sex and that could be achieved by being with someone who was in no state to resist them.” The victim said in evidence: “It wasn’t consensual… they are evil and have ruined my life.”
The men were living in Home Office-approved asylum accommodation near Horsham, West Sussex, at the time. Ahmadi had moved to Crewe without authorisation and was marked as absconding. Border Security and Asylum Minister Alex Norris confirmed the Home Office would seek deportation after sentencing.
