Three asylum seekers have been convicted of raping a 33-year-old woman on Brighton beach in October 2024, in an attack that prosecutors said left the victim fearing for her life. Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, and Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, were found guilty at Hove Crown Court after a trial that heard the woman was dragged behind a beach hut, pinned down, and assaulted repeatedly. The victim, who was intoxicated and separated from her friends, was dragged behind a beach hut, pinned down, spat on, kicked, and had her throat grabbed. She feared she would be killed, prosecutors said. Alshafe and Ahmadi were each found guilty of two counts of rape, while Al-Danasurt was found guilty of four counts of rape as a secondary party by encouraging and filming the attack. He also faced an additional charge of sharing intimate videos of the assault. One of the men was seen smiling and sticking his tongue out on footage of the attack. After the assault, the men had a barbecue at their hotel. The incident occurred on Lower Esplanade at about 05:00 BST on 4 October, after the woman became separated from her friends. Alshafe and Ahmadi took her behind a beach shack and raped her repeatedly, while Al-Danasurt was present and aware, and his presence encouraged the commission of the rapes, prosecutors said.
The three men were living in Home Office-approved hotel accommodation for asylum seekers near Horsham, West Sussex, at the time of the attack. The Home Office confirmed that all three arrived in the UK via small boats and had pending asylum claims. Ahmadi is an Iranian national, while Alshafe and Al-Danasurt are Egyptian nationals. Alshafe and Ahmadi entered Britain on June 19, 2024, and Al-Danasurt arrived on October 11, 2024, just days after the assault.
Prosecutors alleged that Al-Danasurt had been convicted of murder in his absence in Egypt, a claim his defence barrister disputed, saying it was his brother who had been convicted. The jury was not told of this alleged conviction before the verdict. The exact nature of the alleged murder conviction remains unclear, and it is unknown whether it will affect his sentencing or potential deportation.
During the trial, Ahmadi claimed that police officers threatened him in his cell at 3am to sign a document, saying he would be imprisoned for seven years if he did not comply. Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Water said Ahmadi was lying about the threat and that the document was a standard RIPA notice. Alshafe claimed the woman approached him and Ahmadi, kissed them, and consented to sex, adding that he was a virgin before the incident. Al-Danasurt said he filmed the attack to gather evidence for police.
The attack occurred in the early hours of October 4, 2024, on Lower Esplanade in Brighton. The victim, who was intoxicated and separated from her friends, was dragged behind a beach hut, pinned down, spat on, kicked, and had her throat grabbed. She feared she would be killed, prosecutors said. Alshafe and Ahmadi were each found guilty of two counts of rape, while Al-Danasurt was found guilty of four counts of rape as a secondary party by encouraging and filming the attack. He also faced an additional charge of sharing intimate videos of the assault. One of the men was seen smiling and sticking his tongue out on footage of the attack. After the assault, the men had a barbecue at their hotel. Al-Danasurt is accused of filming the alleged rapes and sending the recordings to Ahmadi's phone, according to prosecutors.
The hearing at Brighton Law Courts was adjourned due to a lack of a Kurdish interpreter for Ahmadi. The three men appeared wearing grey prison jumpers and spoke to confirm their names. They will remain in custody ahead of a pre-trial hearing scheduled for December. Border security minister Alex Norris said the government will move to deport the men after sentencing. The exact sentence and timing of deportation proceedings remain unknown. It is also unclear whether any other individuals were involved or present during the attack.