Three men have been jailed for the repeated rape of a woman on Brighton beach, in what a judge described as an 'entirely predatory and callous attack'. Ibrahim Alshafe, 26, and Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, were each sentenced to 21 years in prison, while Karin Al-Danasurt, 21, received an 18-year-and-six-month sentence. All three will serve an additional six years on extended licence upon release.
Details of the Attack
The court heard that the victim was targeted while 'staggering in the street' and 'incapacitated' during the early hours of 4 October last year. Alshafe and Ahmadi led her behind a beach hut where they carried out the rape, while Al-Danasurt filmed the attack. The woman recalled being spat upon, kicked and having her throat grabbed throughout the ordeal.
Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC described the men as 'devoid of humanity' and their treatment of the woman as 'entirely predatory, callous and contemptuous'. The impact on the woman was described as 'extreme'.
Victim Impact Statement
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said: 'They destroyed my life that night, they took something from me nobody had the right to do so. They violated me in every way.' She added: 'They took something from me that night I'm afraid I will never get back. To not take accountability for their actions (is) like sticking a knife in and twisting it again.' She told the court that when she closes her eyes she sees the man filming it and them all 'laughing at me'. 'My skin crawls. No matter how hard I scrub it, I still feel dirty,' she added.
Passing sentence, Judge Christine Henson KC said: 'Each of you participated in an entirely predatory and callous attack on a female separated from her friends after what had been a fun night out for her. You each treated her with contempt and you each played a role in degrading her in the most appalling way.'
Background of the Defendants
The three defendants, who were acquainted with one another, had been residing at Home Office-approved hotel accommodation for asylum seekers in Lower Beeding, near Horsham, West Sussex. Ahmadi and Alshafe first encountered one another aboard a small boat crossing from France, arriving in the UK on June 19 2025. Alshafe and Al-Danasurt, who had arrived in the UK on October 11 2024, shared a room at the hotel. The three prepared themselves at the hotel before boarding a bus into Brighton on the evening of October 3.
A Snapchat video captured them in front of a mirror at around 7.30pm at the hotel, with Ahmadi adjusting a durag on Al-Danasurt, who gestures towards the camera and smiles, while being filmed by Alshafe.
Night Out and Attack
During the night out, the group visited a bar and nightclub on the beach, where Alshafe conversed with a woman via Google Translate about his aspirations to marry, start a family and obtain citizenship in the UK. The prosecution suggested he had been a 'nasty little predator' that night, having been rejected by several women and was 'on the prowl' with his co-defendants.
Following the attack, the men returned to their hotel by bus and later held a barbecue that same evening, approximately at the time the victim was awaiting medical examination. Throughout the trial, all three men gave evidence through translators to deny the crimes.
Ms Llewellyn-Waters stated their accounts provided 'clear and chilling insight into a wholly warped mindset' and a 'total lack of remorse'. Alshafe and Ahmadi maintained that the encounter was consensual, claiming the woman had approached them on the seafront, kissed and touched them both, mentioned sex and led them both to the beach. The court was shown footage of the woman stumbling while walking with Ahmadi and Alshafe along the seafront.
Al-Danasurt told jurors he had attempted to halt the attack by filming it, a claim prosecutor Ms Llewellyn-Waters described as a 'pack of lies'. Video footage presented to jurors depicted Alshafe smiling and sticking his tongue out during the assault, as well as striking the woman across the face.
Sentencing and Deportation
Alshafe and Ahmadi were convicted of two counts of rape by the jury, while Al-Danasurt was found guilty of four counts of rape as a secondary party by encouraging and filming the assault. On Wednesday, the prosecution argued that the sentencing court should reach its decision regarding the risk posed by the defendants 'without regards to possibility that one day a defendant may be deported'. Government ministers have pledged to deport the men following sentencing.
