CCTV Map Traces Asylum Seekers' Nightclub Movements Before Alleged Brighton Beach Gang Rape
A detailed map presented to the jury has revealed the precise movements of three asylum seekers who spent the evening partying in Brighton nightclubs before allegedly gang-raping a lone, intoxicated woman on the pebble beach. The map, compiled by the Crown Prosecution Service, was shown to jurors on Tuesday, charting a harrowing sequence of events that unfolded in the early hours of October 4 last year.
Nightclub CCTV Footage Shows Disturbing Interactions
In CCTV footage from Revolution nightclub played in court yesterday, two of the defendants are seen interacting with a friend of the alleged victim. One clip allegedly shows Ibrahim Alshafe grabbing the woman in the foyer, putting his arm around her waist before she forcibly removes it and gestures at him angrily. Later footage from Horizon nightclub on the seafront captures all three men dancing and conversing with various female revellers throughout the evening.
Additional CCTV obtained from cameras along the Brighton seafront then shows the alleged victim, described as visibly intoxicated and barely able to stand, being led down a ramp to the beach by the three men. Prosecuting barrister Hanna Llewellyn-Waters told the jury the woman was taken to a secluded beach shack where she was repeatedly raped by two defendants while the third filmed the assault.
Defendants and Charges
The three men facing trial are Egyptian national Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, Iranian national Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, and Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, also from Egypt. Alshafe and Ahmadi are accused of repeatedly raping the woman, while Al-Danasurt allegedly filmed the attack and encouraged the others. All three are charged with rape, with Al-Danasurt additionally charged with sharing an intimate film.
The court heard that all defendants arrived in the UK on small boats—Alshafe and Ahmadi in June 2025, and Al-Danasurt in October 2024—and were staying at a Home Office-approved hotel for asylum seekers at the time of the alleged incident.
Alleged Predatory Behaviour and Victim's Account
Prosecutors described the men's actions as cynical, predatory and callous, targeting the woman as she left a nightclub in a severely drunken state. The victim, a woman in her 30s, described herself as paralytic drunk with no memory of how she ended up on Brighton beach. In a video interview played to the jury, she recalled drifting in and out of consciousness during the assault.
So at first it was like I was coming round and someone had their finger in my mouth and like was rubbing their finger in my mouth and it was almost like I kept falling back asleep, she said. Like every time I, I was there but I wasn't, like it was such a weird experience. Like I've been drunk, I'm 30-odd, I've been drunk many a times, I've never had this like feeling before.
She also reported hearing a foreign accent saying Dirty b****, dirty b**** during the attack, with a light like a camera flash in her face.
Further CCTV Evidence and Trial Proceedings
The jury of seven women and five men viewed numerous CCTV clips from both nightclubs, showing additional concerning behaviour. Ahmadi is allegedly seen grabbing the complainant's friend in Revolution's foyer, while Alshafe appears to grope an unknown blonde woman. Al-Danasurt is said to have stroked the bottom of an unknown brunette woman. The footage culminates with the three defendants leaving the club and allegedly targeting the victim as she staggered alone down the street.
The trial at Hove Crown Court continues, with the map and CCTV footage forming central pieces of evidence in this disturbing case.
