DUBAI // A traveller has denied molesting a sleeping 19-year-old British student whom he befriended at Dubai International Airport.
The student had come to Dubai on a four-day visit to meet a friend on January 6 and the incident occurred as she waited to travel home, Dubai Criminal Court heard on Wednesday.
“On January 10, I was at the airport waiting for my flight from Terminal 1. It was nearly 4am when I was approached by the defendant,” she told prosecutors.
The 27-year-old man from Pakistan told her that the British Airways counter did not open until 7.30am and he invited her to have a coffee to pass the time. They did and then she returned later to board but was told that her flight was among many that had been delayed.
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Today in court:
■ Woman 'threatened policeman' in Dubai cafe dispute
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“He was there, listening, so he offered to help me find a hotel room instead of spending the time at the airport,” she said.
The student said that the defendant booked at hotel room and accompanied her to it, and when there, he asked to use the toilet.
“He got out of the toilet only in his underwear. I told him to leave but he said he wouldn’t do anything and because he is just exhausted and wanted to relax,” she said.
The teenager sat on the bed and said that she didn’t realise she was falling asleep.
“When that happened I was awoken by him stroking my hair and touching my knees. I picked up my stuff and left the room,” she said, adding that she reported what happened at the airport and then left the country.
“He confessed to me that he planned to have sex with her but she left the room,” said an Emirati police officer, who also said the defendant told him he was sorry for what he had done.
However, he denied a sexual assault charge in court.
A verdict is expected on April 9.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
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Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
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6.30pm: Liwa Oaisi Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
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The National selections: 5pm: Flit Al Maury, 5.30pm: Sadah, 6pm: RB Seqondtonone, 6.30pm: RB Money To Burn, 7pm: SS Jalmood, 7.30pm: Dalaalaat
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UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
Racecard
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
