Four men convicted of raping boy, 13, have sentences upheld

DUBAI // Four men convicted of raping a 13-year-old boy have had their jail sentences upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Emirati A A, 21, was sentenced to three years for kidnapping, threatening and raping the teenager. S M, 18, A M, 19 and M B, 20, all Emiratis, were acquitted of kidnap and issuing threats but were sentenced to two years each.

Emirati student H A told police that in April 2013 he went to the Jumeirah beach with his mother and two brothers to play football. At around 7pm his mother went home with one of his brothers after he got hurt.

H A was approached by A A in the playground. “He gave me a fake name and said he was a friend of my cousin, then told me to walk with him near a dark area where he grabbed me from behind. When I tried to escape he threatened to kill me and my family if I told anyone about what happened,” said H A.

Later that night, at around 10pm, A A called H A and asked to meet. He threatened to kill HA if he didn’t show up.

“I met him near a school where he was with A M in a white car. A M had a knife and threatened me with it. They took me to a nearby telecommunications building, then A A and A B took turns raping me,” recalled the victim. Two weeks after the incident A A threatened the victim again and raped him along with A M in the same place, after which S M and M B arrived and also raped H A.

The victim’s father told police that in May 2013 he noticed that his son was having problems sitting down in the prayer hall. When he asked what was wrong, H A told him that he had been raped by four men.

The father went with his son to the scene of the crime and then called police.

“My son now has psychological problems, he is sitting alone more often and screaming and hitting his brothers. He is undergoing psychological treatment in a clinic,” said the father.

Emirati policeman M A 38, testified that when A A, S M, A M, and M B were arrested they confirmed during questioning to having had consensual sex with H A.

At Dubai Criminal Court last May, the four Emiratis denied all charges but were convicted and jailed.