Marte Deborah Dalelv was interviewed Friday in Dubai. (Photo: Kamran Jebreili, AP)
The Norwegian interior designer convicted in Dubai of having illegal sex after she reported being raped is appealing her jail sentence and alerting Western women to the Islam-based legal system of the United Arab Emirates.
"I just want to get fair treatment," Marte Dalelv, 24, told the AFP news agency Friday. She called her 16-month sentence Wednesday -- for extramarital sex, perjury and illegal alcohol consumption -- "very harsh," saying she had appealed immediately. A hearing is set for Sept. 5.
But she stressed she did not want to criticize the UAE government.
"They have their legal system," said Dalelv, who has been sheltered at the Norwegian Seamen's Church in Dubai since she was arrested March 6 after reporting that a co-worker had raped her in a hotel where she was attending a business meeting.
She said she was "very nervous and tense."
"I hope for the best and I take one day at a time," she told AFP by telephone. "I just have to get through this."
In an interview with the Associated Press, Dalelv said she wanted to "spread the word" about significant differences in the emirates' legal code compared with Western legal systems.
"After my sentence we thought, `How can it get worse?'" she said from the church. She has been in regular contact with her family, who live outside of Oslo.
Explaining the attack, Dalelv said she fled to the hotel lobby to report the assault after awakening to find she was being raped. She said the staff questioned whether she wanted to involve the police.
She wound up being jailed for four days, charged and having her passport confiscated.
Dalelv said her attacker was sentenced to 13 months extramarital sex and consuming alcohol without a license.
She also revealed that she was suspended by Qatar-based home-furnishings company The One after her arrest, according to media in Norway, where her case has dominated the news and sparked outrage.
She told broadcaster NRK that her suspension letter cited "gross misconduct on the job in direct violation of the Company's policy" and the firm wants to fire her.
In response, Norwegian colleges cut their ties with The One, which has recruited students from across Scandinavia to come work in the Gulf, The Local reported.
Dubai authorities have not responded or issued no public statements about her case.
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said was trying to reach his counterpart in the Gulf nation, but communications were slowed by Ramadan and Friday, Islam's holy day.
No comments:
Post a Comment