July 22, 2013 -- Updated 1059 GMT (1859 HKT)
A Norwegian woman who was sentenced to prison after reporting she was
raped in Dubai has been given a pardon, a spokeswoman for Norway's
Foreign Ministry said Monday. FULL STORY
|
SENTENCED TO PRISON
A Norwegian woman sentenced to prison after reporting she was raped in Dubai has been given a pardon, Norwegian officials say.
FULL STORY
July 22, 2013 -- Updated 1310 GMT (2110 HKT)
This Facebook photo shows Norwegian businesswoman Marte Deborah Dalelv, 24.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Lawyer: A royal pardon wipes the slate clean; Dalelv's alleged attacker also is free
- Dalelv says she has her passport back and wants to go home as soon as possible
- Norway: Dialogue, along with international pressure and interest, led to Dalelv's release
- Dalelv is still in Dubai but expects to travel in a day or two, a Norwegian official says
Speaking to reporters in
Dubai, Marte Deborah Dalelv seemed relieved and happy as she confirmed
the news -- if still slightly bewildered by the swift turn of events.
"They told me that I
would be pardoned and that they were going to give me my passport back
-- so I got it immediately," she said.
A friend has taken the passport to a government department to get the necessary exit permit, she said.
Asked what happens next, Dalelv paused a moment before replying: "I get to go home."
She added, "We want to make it as soon as possible."
A spokeswoman for
Norway's Foreign Ministry, Ragnhild Imerslund, earlier told CNN that
Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had said Dalelv was
free to travel where she wants and can remain in Dubai if she chooses.
The sheikh, who is vice
president of the United Arab Emirates, also said the 24-year-old had not
been and would not be deported, Imerslund said.
Woman reports Dubai rape, faces prison
Dalelv, a Qatar-based
interior designer, was on a work trip to Dubai when she reported to
police that she had been raped by a colleague at the hotel where she was
staying.
She was herself then
detained and charged with having unlawful sex, making a false statement
and illegal consumption of alcohol. A court last week sentenced her to
16 months in prison, prompting outrage in Norway.
Dalelv is currently still in Dubai but is expected to travel in a day or two, Imerslund said.
Dalelv's lawyer, Mahmoud
Azab Abu Gareda, told CNN that the sheikh's pardon is "effectively a
royal decree," which wipes the slate clean, leaving no record of her
conviction.
This means that the
alleged perpetrator, who was charged with public intoxication and having
sex outside of marriage, also walks free, he said.
Dalelv has already dropped her case against him, so it will not be pursued further, he said.
Social media buzz
Ase Elin Bjerke,
Norway's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said her country had
been working on Dalelv's behalf for several months -- and that she was
very grateful for the decision to issue a pardon.
Bjerke said the case had resonated on social media both in Norway and elsewhere.
"I think people can see
themselves in Marte," she said. "She has done what a lot of people would
do when they come and visit Dubai. You are out with your friends and
things roll on that you are not in control of. She is happy now and we
are happy with her and she can return free to Norway."
Norway has a "very good"
relationship with the United Arab Emirates, Bjerke said, adding that
she credited the openness between the two nations for the outcome of
this case.
Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Eide also welcomed news of Dalelv's pardon.
"Marte is released! Thanks to everyone who signed up to help #ReleaseMarte," his Twitter feed said.
Imerslund said "very
constructive" dialogue between the foreign ministers of Norway and the
UAE, along with international pressure and interest, led to this outcome
in Dalelv's case.
On Friday, Eide had
called his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to
protest Dalelv's conviction as "contrary to fundamental human rights," a
weekend statement from the Norwegian ministry said.
While Dubai has a
reputation as a cosmopolitan city that boasts Western influences, where
visitors can drink at bars and restaurants and unmarried couples can
share hotel rooms, the country adheres to Islamic laws and traditions.
Having sex outside of marriage and public consumption of alcohol are both violations of the law in the United Arab Emirates.
Fired from her job
Dalelv no longer has a job with the company that sent her on the work assignment to Dubai.
She told CNN that a
month after the rape, while forced to stay in Dubai as the case wound
through the legal system, she was fired by her employer, Al Mana
Interiors.
A representative of Al
Mana Interiors, who declined to be publicly identified, said Saturday
that Dalelv and the Sudanese man she accused -- who is married with
three children -- were both terminated by Al Mana Interiors for
"drinking alcohol at a staff conference that resulted in trouble with
the police."
A statement released
later the same day by Al Mana Interiors spokesman Hani El Korek said the
company was sympathetic toward Dalelv "during this very difficult
situation" and that her dismissal was not because of the rape claim.
The statement said that
company representatives were by her side through the initial
investigation, spending "days at both the police station and the
prosecutor's office to help win her release."
"Only when Ms. Dalelv
declined to have positive and constructive discussions about her
employment status, and ceased communication with her employer, was the
company forced to end our relationship with her," the statement said.
"The decision had
nothing to do with the rape allegation, and unfortunately neither Ms.
Dalelv nor her attorneys have chosen to contact the company to discuss
her employment status."
Rights record criticized
The United Arab Emirates
has been heavily criticized by rights groups, which say it condones
sexual violence against women. Human Rights Watch has called its record
"shameful," saying it must change the way it handles such cases.
In December 2012, a
British woman reported being raped by three men in Dubai. She was found
guilty of drinking alcohol without a license and fined.
In January 2010, a
British woman told authorities she was raped by an employee at a Dubai
hotel. She was charged with public intoxication and having sex outside
of marriage.
An Australian woman
reported in 2008 that she was drugged and gang-raped. She was convicted
of having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, and she was
sentenced to 11 months in prison.
CNN's Nicola Goulding reported from Dubai
and Jennifer Deaton in Atlanta. CNN's Phil O'Sullivan, Dareen Al Omari
and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report.
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