Three men have been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman on Brighton beach in what a judge described as a “cynical, predatory and callous” attack. The victim became separated from her friends during a night out in the early hours of 4 October last year.
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 incapacitated 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. They wanted sex and that could be achieved by being with someone who was in no state to resist them.”
In evidence, the victim said: “It wasn’t consensual, it was not consensual, they are evil and they have ruined my life.” She added that she sees the filmer’s face “laughing at me” every time she closes her eyes. Footage showed Alshafe smiling and slapping the woman during the attack.
The defendants, who were living in Home Office-approved asylum accommodation near Horsham, West Sussex, claimed the encounter was consensual. Al-Danasurt said he filmed the attack to try to stop it. The jury returned verdicts after more than 16 hours of deliberation over a five-week trial.
Border security and asylum minister Alex Norris said the Home Office would seek to deport the men after sentencing. All three are appealing against refused asylum applications.
