Woman's Life Ruined by Alleged Gang Rape on Brighton Beach, Court Hears
A woman allegedly gang-raped by three asylum seekers on Brighton beach broke down in tears today as she told Hove Crown Court how her "whole life" has been devastated by the incident. The alleged victim, who was intoxicated, had been enjoying a night out in the seaside resort when she was targeted by the group in what prosecutors described as a "cynical, predatory and callous" manner.
Traumatic Testimony and Emotional Breakdown
In a video interview played to the court, the woman, in her 30s and unable to be identified, recounted waking up on the pebbles with one man lying on her while another orally raped her. Through floods of tears, she described constant flashbacks to the sound of the three men laughing at her and the seagulls screeching on the beach. During cross-examination, she stated, "They all spat on me and they were laughing while they were spitting on me and when I asked them to stop and they wouldn't stop. I was begging them to stop and they wouldn't stop and they thought it was funny and they were laughing at me it really wasn't funny."
She added, "Every day if I close my eyes and it's not one of them laughing at me, it's the seagulls I can hear. Every night it bothers me. They thought it was funny. It wasn't consensual at all. They have ruined my life. They have ruined my whole life. I didn't say they could do that, or anything. My skin crawls, my skin crawls every day because of what they did to me. they're evil and they've ruined my life. I wouldn't do that. It would not affect me this much every day if it was consensual."
When asked about consent, she emphasized, "When I woke up I said: 'Get off, get off!' but they didn't. They knew that it wasn't consensual when I woke up. How can someone give consent when you're unconscious." After the men left, she woke up to the "seagulls and the beach and the sea" and could not see her alleged attackers, crawling off the beach in distress. She asserted, "I was drunk but that doesn't give them the right to rape me."
Defendants and Charges in the Trial
The three defendants are Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, from Egypt, Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, from Iran, and Karin Al-Danasurt, 20. Alshafe and Ahmadi are each charged with two counts of physical rape, while Al-Danasurt faces four counts of rape by encouraging the incident through filming it, plus additional charges of intentionally sharing three films of the alleged attack. All three men arrived in the UK on small boats, with Alshafe and Ahmadi arriving in June 2025 and Al-Danasurt in October 2024, and were staying at the Cisswood House Hotel in Horsham, Home Office-approved accommodation for asylum seekers.
During cross-examination, defense lawyers challenged the alleged victim's account. Nick Wayne, defending Al-Danasurt, suggested the defendant did not call her derogatory names or spit in her mouth, to which she replied, "He's lying." Mr. Wayne also claimed Al-Danasurt did not put his finger in her mouth, and she responded, "That's a lie." Brian Shaw, defending Alshafe, asked if she remembered kissing Ahmadi after leaving the nightclub, but she said she had no memory until waking up on the beach. She also denied agreeing to have sex with Alshafe, stating, "Absolutely not and when I asked them to stop they carried on." Jonathan Ray, defending Ahmadi, inquired if she had consented to sex with Ahmadi, but she reiterated having no memory until the assault.
Prosecution's Case and Incident Details
Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters told the court that the defendants treated the alleged victim like "meat," dragging her onto pebbles in a secluded part of Brighton beach where they took turns raping her. The incident occurred in October last year after the woman had gone out with two friends, drinking heavily at home before visiting Revolution Bar and Horizon nightclub in Brighton. She consumed vodka and coke, Sambuca shots, and several Jager bombs, and was bought drinks by two foreign men. At one point, she bumped into rapper Dappy from N-Dubz and took a selfie with him.
Towards the end of the evening, she became separated from her friend and was sick in the club toilets. When the club closed around 5am, CCTV showed her staggering out onto the street and going to a nearby Burger King. As she left, she was approached by the men and led across the road down a ramp into Brighton beach. The court heard she was so drunk she could barely stand, describing herself as "paralytic," and the men allegedly led her to a secluded area near a shack instead of offering help.
Jurors were shown footage of the "motionless" woman lying on her back with her eyes closed while Ahmadi and Alshafe were penetrating her. One clip from Al-Danasurt's phone showed Ahmadi covering his face with his hand during the alleged assault. Al-Danasurt told police he barely knew his co-defendants and videoed the incident to capture "potential evidence," claiming he did not intervene because he was in shock and unsure how to react, and was "really trying to help the woman." In contrast, Ahmadi asserted the woman was fully consenting and initiated the encounter, while Alshafe denied being present in Brighton altogether.
The trial continues as the court examines the harrowing allegations and evidence presented.
