On Sunday, two teenage boys were accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in Dubai, a local court heard.
The Dubai Court of First Instance charged the two Emirati boys (aged 18 and 17) with rape in compliance with the UAE law. According to Gulf News, the law states that sex with a girl under 14 - even if deemed consensual - is considered rape.
The incident was originally reported to Al Barsha police station in January 2019, but no details were revealed at the time.
The teenage boys had sex with the Pakistani girl one day apart. The 13-year-old girl told prosecution that the defendants had "consensual sex" with her.
After interrogations, the teenage boys "confessed that they had sex with the girl with her consent," a 37-year-old Emirati policeman told Gulf News. A medical report also revealed that the girl had not suffered from any form of injury that would "indicate the incident was forceful."
The court deemed the case as one of "rape" considering the UAE law defines sex with a girl under 14 years of age as such, even if it was a decision taken consciously by both parties. According to the victim and the two defendants, the encounter was consensual.
If so, having sex outside of marriage is prohibited in the UAE, which means they could all be charged for violating another law. The UAE prohibits sex outside of marriage and often jails couples found violating this law.
The trial has been scheduled for May 21.