Three men have been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman on Brighton beach in what the judge described as a 'cynical, predatory and callous' attack. The incident occurred in the early hours of 4 October last year after the woman became separated from her friends on a night out.
Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, an Egyptian national, and Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, an Iranian national, were convicted of two counts of rape each at Hove Crown Court. Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, also an Egyptian national, was found guilty of four counts of rape as a secondary party for encouraging and filming the attack. All three men are seeking asylum in the UK.
The court heard that two of the men took the woman behind a beach hut and raped her while the third filmed the ordeal. Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC told jurors: 'To these defendants, the complainant was meat.' The victim testified: 'It wasn't consensual, they are evil and they have ruined my life.'
At the time of the attack, all three defendants were living in Home Office-approved asylum seeker accommodation near Horsham, West Sussex. Border security minister Alex Norris said the Home Office would seek to deport the men after sentencing.
The men showed no reaction as the verdicts were delivered after over 16 hours of jury deliberation. They are currently appealing against refused asylum applications.
