Rape accused tells Dubai court he's innocent, doesn't need a lawyer

DUBAI // A mechanic accused of kidnapping and raping a woman has told Dubai Criminal Court he does not need a lawyer because he is not guilty.

The 60-year-old Emirati said his accuser was out to get him and that they had dated for more than a month.

"She is a bad woman," SE told the court this morning. "I don't want a lawyer, I would confess here before the court [if I had done it]."

His accuser, a 33-year-old Ethiopian maid, told prosecutors she was returning home after shopping in Oud Al Mutaina on September 20 when SE pulled up in a white 4x4 and told her he was a policeman.

"The driver grabbed me by the hand, took the bags I was holding and threw them inside the car, then tried to force me in," said TG.

She told him her sponsor's house was nearby and they could go there to get her passport and check it, but she said he ignored her.

TG said SE drove to a sandy area and pulled over, then asked her to take off her clothes. "I refused, but then he threatened to beat me," said TG.

She said the defendant used her hijab as a blanket on the sand.

"He finished after a long time then asked me to put on my clothes so he could drive me back home," said TG.

She refused and asked him instead to drop her off at the same place he picked her up.

"When I jumped out of the car, he sprayed water on my face and told me to tell my sponsor I was sick so she wouldn't know about the rape," said TG.

She arrived home crying and told her employer what had happened. They then went together to police to report the incident.

Policeman AS, 40, testified that DNA traces taken from the victim matched those of the defendant. "When we confronted him with the DNA results, he confessed but said it was with the woman's consent," said AS.

Policeman MN, 52, who took the defendant's testimony, said SE told him the maid approached him and asked him for a mobile credit recharge card. "He told me he gave her Dh200," said MN. "He added that the woman followed him to his car after he left the shopping centre and asked him to give her a lift. "He told me when she got into his car, she started touching him then jumped on top of him while on the driver's seat and had sex with him willingly," said MN.

The next hearing will be on March 17 to appoint a lawyer for the defendant.