Three men have been found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman on Brighton beach in what a prosecutor described as a 'cynical, predatory and callous' attack. The victim became separated from her friends on a night out before being targeted in the early hours of 4 October last year, Hove Crown Court heard.
Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, an Egyptian national, and Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, an Iranian national, were convicted of two counts of rape. Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, also Egyptian, was found guilty of four counts of rape as a secondary party by encouraging and filming the ordeal. All three are seeking asylum in the UK.
The court was shown footage of Alshafe smiling and sticking his tongue out during the attack, as well as slapping the woman. Prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC told jurors: 'Frankly, to these defendants, the complainant was meat. They wanted sex and that could be achieved by being with someone who was in no state to resist them.'
The victim, speaking from behind a screen, said: 'It wasn't consensual, it was not consensual, they are evil and they have ruined my life.' She added: 'It's the filmer's face I see every time I close my eyes, laughing at me.'
The men, who were living in Home Office-approved asylum accommodation near Horsham, West Sussex, will be sentenced at a later date. Border security minister Alex Norris said the Home Office would seek to deport them after sentencing.
