Marte Deborah Dalelv has been given back her passport, which was being held by prosecution. AP Photo
Marte Deborah Dalelv has been given back her passport, which was being held by prosecution. AP Photo
Marte Deborah Dalelv has been given back her passport, which was being held by prosecution. AP Photo
Marte Deborah Dalelv has been given back her passport, which was being held by prosecution. AP Photo

Facts behind the headlines of the Marte Deborah Dalelv Dubai sex case


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

It is a case that made headlines around the world; headlines that almost without exception disparaged the UAE's legal system and the way it treats female victims of sexual assault.
"Dubai imprisons Norwegian woman who reported rape" wrote USA Today. Other media outlets, from Europe to Australia, took the same theme. "Raped Norwegian woman jailed in Dubai" was typical.
But a closer examination reveals that even after yesterday's decision to pardon Marte Dalelv, this remains a complex case filled with ambiguities and unanswered questions.
One thing, though, is clear - agreed on not just by the authorities and the police, but by the woman herself: legally, this was not a rape case.
Records of the trial seen by The National provide the most detailed account of the case yet. They also suggest that after Ms Dalelv's retraction of the rape allegations, the authorities had little alternative but to proceed with a prosecution for sex outside marriage and a minimum one-year prison sentence.
In her own words, according to the prosecution, she said: "I told police he raped me while I was still under the influence of alcohol, but I then changed that and I confirm that he did not rape me, but had sex with me with my consent."
In that one sentence, she admitted to not just extramarital sex, but also making a false report, again an offence that automatically carries a prison term, and consuming alcohol illegally.
According to the transcript, Ms Dalelv made the initial complaint of rape early on March 7. A resident of Qatar, she had flown to Dubai for a business meeting.
She told police she had been drinking the previous night at a hotel nightclub on Sheikh Zayed Road with colleagues from her company in Qatar, including HM, 33, a Sudanese man who is married and has three children.
She told the questioning police officer: "I had three glasses of vodka, one mojito and a beer while we were at the club, and I asked HM to protect me from molestation attempts."
In the same account she tells of settling her bill at about 3am, then taking a cab with colleagues, including HM, to the Holiday Inn in Al Safa where they were staying.
In Ms Dalelv's account, she asked HM to take her to her room, but he suggested they stay in his so that he could wake her in time for a morning business meeting.
Photographs from the hotel's closed-circuit TV camera, which were produced in court, show Ms Dalelv entering HM's room with her arm around his waist in one shot, and resting her head on his shoulder in another.
In her account, she then removed her clothes except for her underwear and slept in the bed with HM on a sofa.
Her account stated she woke up at 7.30am "feeling pain", with the man "on top of me having sex with me".
"I tried to push him away several times but he continued what he was doing for about four minutes," she continued.
Afterwards Ms Dalelv says she screamed at her attacker when he went to wash himself, then went to reception where the police were called.
She claims that the officers were all male, that she was given a medical examination for evidence of rape, tested for alcohol and then held in custody for three days.
The account of HM - who has also been pardoned after being sentenced to a year in prison for sex outside of marriage - contests that Ms Dalelv tried to seduce him by rubbing her body against his and making "intimate noises".
He says in his statement that following sex and after washing himself: "I found her crying and asking me why I had raped her."
Six days later, on March 12, Ms Dalelv returned to the police and retracted the allegation of rape, saying that she had made the initial complaint "because I was under the influence of alcohol".
Exactly why Ms Dalelv decided to change her account is still unclear.
In an interview with CNN, she says she began to suspect that the police did not believe her story after her first interview and was advised by a manager at her company that if she admitted the sex was consensual "it would all go away".
A spokesman for the company, Al Mana Interiors of Qatar, has denied this.
He said the suggestion came in Arabic from a police officer and that its representative acted simply as a translator.
Ms Dalelv has yet to give a more full account of what happened in the six days between her claim of rape and her retraction.
On April 9, the company terminated her employment for "unacceptable and improper behaviour", adding in a statement on Sunday that it had been "supportive and communicative" until she "ceased communication" with them.
Her sacking, it added, had nothing to do with the rape allegations.
Her colleague has also lost his job.
If, indeed, Ms Dalelv did believe changing her story would end the matter, it was a catastrophic miscalculation, leaving her defenceless for the eventual court hearing last week in which she was given a year for consensual sex, a month for filing a false report and three months for illegally consuming alcohol - all crimes to which she had effectively admitted.
The pardon means Ms Dalelv will no longer have to wait for her appeal in September to hope for freedom.
But it also means that what happened in that hotel room in March will remain a subject for conjecture and speculation, rather than a simple case of laws that were broken.
salamir@thenational.ae
jlangton@thenational.ae

The Sky Is Pink

Director: Shonali Bose

Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

Three stars

SPECS
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MATCH INFO

Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')

Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')

Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)

Results:

Men’s wheelchair 200m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 27.14; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 27.81; 3. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 27.81.

ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES

Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)

Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)

Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)

Get inspired

Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).

Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.  

Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?). 

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

MATCH INFO

Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

Community Shield info

Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)

Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

Referee Bobby Madley

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Ovo's tips to find extra heat
  • Open your curtains when it’s sunny 
  • Keep your oven open after cooking  
  • Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy 
  • Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat 
  • Put on extra layers  
  • Do a few star jumps  
  • Avoid alcohol   
T20 World Cup Qualifier

October 18 – November 2

Opening fixtures

Friday, October 18

ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya

Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan

Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed

Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed

The%20pillars%20of%20the%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Strategy
%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?

Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
 

Cricket World Cup League Two

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

 

Fixtures

Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia

Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE

Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

MATCH SCHEDULE

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)

Liverpool v Roma

Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)

Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26

Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)

Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions

Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates