Dubai pardons woman jailed for being raped; big of them

A Norwegian woman who was apparently unaware of Islamic law reported a rape by a co-worker in Dubai and has been sentenced to sixteen months of jail time for having sex outside marriage.  Her rapist has been given thirteen months for the same offense.

She was originally detained for four days but was released after embassy intervention and was sentenced on Wednesday.  Fortunately, she has now been ‘pardoned’ by the Dubai ruler: 

A NORWEGIAN woman in a rape case in Dubai dating back to March said she was pardoned today of an extramarital sex charge and allowed to fly home. 

"I was told that I've been pardoned," Marte Dalelv, 24, told reporters outside a court in the Muslim emirate, adding that her passport had been returned and she would leave the Gulf state "as soon as possible". … 

… A spokeswoman from the ministry told AFP that Dalelv had been pardoned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. "She hasn't been deported, she has been pardoned. She can remain in Dubai if she wishes. Her passport has been returned to her," said Ragnhild Imerslund. 

"She will travel home shortly.”

The tendency of Islamic countries to prosecute women who report rape is reasonably well known.  An Australian woman was jailed for eight months in Dubai after being raped by three co-workers while drinking at a resort bar in Fujairah hotel in June 2008.