DUBAI, Nov 18, 2007 (AFP) - The public prosecution in Dubai on Sunday demanded the maximum penalty for two Emirati men accused of raping a French-Swiss teenager in a case that has attracted international attention.
"I demand the maximum penalty against the two accused," one of whom is said to be HIV positive, a representative of the public prosecution said at a hearing in the booming Gulf emirate.
Under the penal code in the United Arab Emirates, the maximum penalty if the suspects are convicted could mean a death sentence.
The prosecutor accused the pair of "losing their humanity and turning into human wolves" when they committed their alleged sexual assault against the 15-year-old boy in July.
The trial of the two UAE nationals opened on October 24. A third Emirati defendant, who is a minor, is being tried separately in a juvenile court.
The two accused, aged 18 and 36, committed "a horrible crime of abduction and rape, threatening (their victim) with a knife and baton, in an isolated desert spot," the prosecutor said.
The mother of the alleged victim, Swiss journalist Veronique Robert, told the tribunal that her role as a mother was to help her teenage son "rebuild and forget."
"Only you can decide the punishment. But my mother's heart tells you that God gives life and only God can take it away," she said, visibly moved.
"I was drunk," was all the older of the two defendants, who according to legal sources is HIV positive, said in court.
The trial was adjourned until November 28 to hear the defence arguments.
Robert told AFP she was in talks with local authorities in Dubai "in a spirit of openness and transparency."
She did not elaborate, but her remarks contrasted with earlier comments that she had started "judicial proceedings against the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in both France and Switzerland" for allegedly trying to hush up the affair and hiding the fact that one of the accused is HIV positive.
Robert has publicised her son's case through a website she launched in October to muster support for her demand that the UAE recognise homosexual rape in its legal system and set up adequate bodies to treat AIDS victims.
The case has been widely reported in Western media, some of which have seen it as harmful to the image of Dubai, a bustling leisure and business hub in the oil-rich Gulf region.
071118
AF071145
Copyright ©AFP 2007. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2007. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2007. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.