Photo of Marte Deborah Dalelv

A 25 year old Norwegian woman who had reported being raped in Dubai has been sentenced to a jail term of 1 year and 4 months by a local court for having sex outside of marriage. Marte Deborah Dalelv, who was convicted on July 2013, has also been charged with consuming alcohol without a license and perjury.

The United Arab Emirates follow the Islamic Sharia laws under which extramarital sex is completely forbidden and an unmarried couple can be punished for even holding hands in public. Punishment generally involves imprisonment and flogging.

According to her father, the police were suspicious of her claims of rape and she ended up being jailed. Her money and passport were confiscated and she was forbidden from using a phone. Under Islamic laws, for a rape conviction to be upheld, a full confession by the perpetrator or testimonies from four Muslim adult males who were witnesses to the attack is required.

After a long period of captivity, she was finally allowed to contact her father to inform him of her plight. Earlier this month, after days of intense negotiation, Norwegian diplomats were able to secure her temporary release to the local chapter of the Norwegian Seamen's Church.

The Norwegian Department of Foreign Affairs has responded to the verdict by calling it "highly problematic" and saying that it "flies in the face of our notion of justice". They have also said that they would try as hard as possible to get her conviction overturned.

Dalelv had gone to the Emirate as part of a business trip. On 6th March 2013, the last day of her trip, she went out with a few of her male colleagues. The next day, she woke up naked, and immediately called the police after realizing that she had been sexually assaulted. The alleged rapist, a Qatari national, has been sentenced to 13 months imprisonment for extramarital sex and consuming alcohol.

Marte Deborah Dalelv has appealed against her conviction and a hearing is due on 5th September 2013.

Unfortunately, in a country which claims to be much more moderate than its neighbors, a number of similar cases have been reported in the past few years involving local and foreign women.