Woman found guilty in Qatar of having sex outside marriage after 'she was raped'
A WOMAN has been found guilty of having sex outside marriage in Qatar after she told police she had been raped.
A Dutch woman jailed for adultery after reporting she had been raped in Doha
The 22-year-old Dutch holidaymaker was given a suspended prison sentence and fined £580 after the conviction under strict Islamic adultery laws.
Court officials said she would be deported as soon as the fine had been paid.
The woman has been in custody since making the rape allegation three months ago and hopes to be back in the Netherlands within the next few days.
She was arrested by Qatari police immediately after reporting that she had been raped on the night of March 15.
According to her lawyer Brian Lokollo, she was taken to a stranger's flat and raped after her drink had been spiked during a night out with a friend at a hotel in the capital Doha.
Her alleged attacker, who was arrested at the same time and insisted in court that the sex was consensual, was sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage plus a further 40 lashes for consuming alcohol.
The young Dutch holidaymaker was given a suspended sentence and fined £580
Qatar's former justice minister Najeeb al-Nuaimi said the woman's lawyers would have had to prove there had been "no voluntary actions" between her and the man for him to be charged with rape.
He said that even if they had been seen walking together, the authorities might have doubts any sexual activity was non-consensual and instead prosecute both for having sex outside marriage, which is known as "zina" under Islamic law.
The incident happened after the woman's drink was spiked on a night out
The attacker was sentenced to 140 lashes for having sex outside marriage and consuming alcohol
Dozens of people convicted of zina are believed to have been flogged since 2004, including at least 45 between 2009 and 2011.
In 2013, a Norwegian woman in the United Arab Emirates was given a 16-month prison sentence for perjury, extramarital sex and drinking alcohol after she told police she had been raped.
She was later pardoned and allowed to return to Norway.