Three asylum seekers who entered Britain illegally on a small boat have been found guilty of gang raping a woman on Brighton beach. The victim, walking alone along the seafront after a night out, was attacked in the early hours behind a beach hut.
Night of Horror in Brighton
Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, from Iran, and Egyptians Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, and Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, were convicted at Lewes Crown Court of repeatedly raping the 33-year-old woman just after 4am on 4 October last year. At the time, they were all staying in a Home Office-approved asylum hotel in Brighton. The trio spent the evening filming themselves preparing, then took a bus into Brighton. CCTV footage showed them groping multiple women in nightclubs, including a friend of the victim. At one point, Alshafe used Google Translate to flirt, saying he wanted to “build his future, meet a woman, get married, have children and become a citizen” in Britain.
Victim Left ‘Paralytic Drunk’ and Targeted
When the Horizon nightclub closed at 5am, the men targeted the victim, who described herself as “paralytic drunk.” In a police video interview, she said she blacked out, drifting in and out of consciousness as the attack unfolded. She recalled a phone’s flash and hearing a foreign voice call her a “dirty b****.” Al-Danasurt filmed the assault on his mobile and shared the footage. When asked why he recorded it, he bizarrely claimed it was to “gather police evidence” and protect himself. Prosecutors slammed this defence, noting he did nothing to stop the attack and went back to their asylum hotel the next day to hold a barbecue — footage also shown in court.
Callous Attitudes on Show During Trial
Under cross-examination, Al-Danasurt confused rape with consensual sex, saying: “Rape to me is sex.” He admitted the victim was unable to consent but denied involvement. Meanwhile, Alshafe described the attack as his “first sexual experience” and said he was “happy” to try it. Prosecutors described the men as a “predatory pack” who spent the night groping women and then singled out a lone, intoxicated victim. After the assault, they returned to their taxpayer-funded accommodation and were filmed cooking on a portable barbecue in the hotel grounds. Sentencing is scheduled for a later date.
