A Dutch woman who alleges she was raped while on holiday in Qatar has been convicted and fined for “extramarital sex”, in a case which has sparked international outrage.

The 22-year-old, known only as Laura, claimed she was drugged in an upmarket nightclub in Doha before being taken back to an apartment and sexually assaulted.

After reporting the incident to police she was arrested, and has been detained in prison for the last three months.

A court on Monday passed a one-year suspended sentence and fined her 3,000 Qatari riyals (£580) for having sex out of wedlock. She will be deported once she pays the fine, court officials said.

One official described the one-year suspended sentence as "lenient".

"Had she been a Muslim woman, she would have received at least five years in jail,” he said. “No one can get out of such charges here in Qatar."

Speaking from Utrecht in the Netherlands, Laura's mother said she had not yet spoken to her daughter but was "so happy" at the news of her release.

"I do not know yet when she gets home, but this is not most important," she told the Dutch NOS website, describing the ordeal as a “nightmare.”

"The most important is that she gets home... I am so happy," she said.