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European teen testifies in Dubai assault case

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 8, 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Casting anguished looks at a defendant, a 15-year-old French-Swiss boy told a Dubai court Wednesday that he was kidnapped by three Emirati men and raped on the back seat of a car at the edge of the desert. The case has raised questions over treatment of sex crime victims.

The boy's mother, Veronique Robert, said her son "cried a little" but was "very strong" as he testified for 90 minutes in a session closed to the public at the defense's request.

The teen has told police investigators that the three men abducted him and a 16-year-old friend in July while they were on their way home from a mall and took them near Dubai's desert. The men allegedly took turns sexually assaulting the younger boy. The 16-year-old, who was not assaulted, also testified Wednesday.

The case reflects the complicated attitudes toward sex crimes in the booming city-state where critics say the laws are an outmoded mix of Islamic-rooted legal, religious and tribal values.

The teen left the country in early October because French diplomats told his mother that he might be prosecuted for homosexual acts, a crime here. But after authorities said he would not be charged, the boy returned to testify.

Before Wednesday's session was closed to the public, reporters inside the court saw the 15-year-old glance twice in apparent anguish at the older defendant, who is HIV positive.

Two Emirati men, ages 35 and 18, face charges of "kidnapping with deceit" and "forced homosexual relations," which can be punished with life imprisonment or death. The third defendant, younger than 18, is being tried in a juvenile court and could get up to 10 years in prison.

In Dubai, a charge of rape is applicable only in cases involving women, and cases exist where the victim has been charged with prostitution.

[Last modified November 7, 2007, 23:31:08]