Abdulla Ahmadi, Ibrahim Alshafe, and Karin Al-Danasurt were convicted of raping a woman on Brighton beach, according to multiple reports. The three men are each charged with two counts of rape. The prosecution said the three asylum-seekers targeted a lone drunk woman and gang-raped her on Brighton beach. The alleged incident occurred in the early hours of October 4, 2024, after the woman became separated from her friends. The defendants are Egyptians Karin Al-Danasurt (20) and Ibrahim Alshafe (25), and Iranian Abdulla Ahmadi (26).
The victim was intoxicated and incapacitated at the time of the alleged rapes, the prosecution said. She was 'staggering in the street' alone when approached by the three defendants. Alshafe and Ahmadi took the woman behind a beach shack and raped her 'repeatedly', according to the prosecution. Al-Danasurt was present and aware of the rapes, and his presence encouraged the commission of the rapes. Al-Danasurt is accused of filming the alleged rapes and sending the recordings to Ahmadi's phone. One of the migrants posed 'smiling and sticking his tongue out' on footage of the alleged attack, the prosecution said. The victim told police she was dragged onto the beach and that the men 'ruined her life', according to court testimony.
The three men were living at a Home Office-approved hotel for asylum seekers in Lower Beeding, West Sussex, according to multiple reports. At the time of the alleged offences, all three defendants knew each other and were residents at Cisswood House Hotel in Horsham, West Sussex, which was Home Office-approved accommodation for asylum seekers, according to court testimony. Alshafe and Ahmadi entered Britain via small boat on June 19, 2024, and Al-Danasurt entered on October 11, 2024, according to court testimony. The Home Office confirmed all three men arrived in the UK via small boats and had pending decisions on their asylum claims.
Ahmadi told the court that police officers threatened him at 3am to sign a document, saying he would get seven years in prison if he didn't comply, according to Ahmadi. Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Water said Ahmadi was lying about the police threat and that signing a RIPA notice is standard procedure, according to Llewellyn-Water.
Karin Al-Danasurt was convicted of murder in Egypt in absentia, according to prosecutors. Al-Danasurt's defence barrister said it was his brother who had the murder conviction, not him, according to the defence barrister. The judge withdrew evidence of Al-Danasurt's alleged murder conviction after his defence contested it, according to multiple reports.
They ruined my life.
Ibrahim Alshafe told the court he was a virgin before the incident and that the woman initiated sexual contact, according to Alshafe. Alshafe said the woman was conscious and enjoying the encounter, and did not say 'stop', according to Alshafe.
Al-Danasurt was given a caution in the UK for criminal damage in April 2024, according to prosecutor Llewellyn-Waters. Al-Danasurt is also accused of filming the alleged rapes and sending the recordings to Ahmadi's phone, according to the prosecution.
The hearing at Brighton Law Courts on Thursday was adjourned due to lack of a Kurdish interpreter for Ahmadi, according to multiple reports. The three men appeared at Thursday's hearing wearing grey prison jumpers and spoke to confirm their names, according to multiple reports. The three men will remain in custody ahead of a pre-trial hearing scheduled for December, according to multiple reports. Sussex Police was called to the incident on Lower Esplanade at about 05:00 BST on 4 October, according to police reports.
Border security minister Alex Norris said the government will move to deport the men after sentencing, according to Norris. However, prosecutor Llewellyn-Waters said it is 'not a foregone conclusion' that the defendants will be deported, according to Llewellyn-Waters. The Home Office confirmed all three men arrived in the UK via small boats and had pending decisions on their asylum claims.
The exact timeline of events on the night of October 4, 2024, including the victim's movements and the defendants' actions, remains unclear. The status of Al-Danasurt's alleged murder conviction in Egypt is disputed, with his defence claiming it belongs to his brother. It is also uncertain whether the defendants will be deported after sentencing and what legal barriers might prevent deportation. The credibility of the evidence, including video footage and witness statements, has not been fully tested in court.