Rape Laws in The United Arab Emirates

In the United Arab Emirates, there exists a different kind of punishments for crimes including capital punishments for the most heinous of crimes such as rape. Sexual assaults are heavily punished in Dubai and can often include death sentence, especially in instances of sexual assault of minors.

The penal code of the UAE is promulgated under UAE Federal Law number 3 of 1987 and its amendments (the “UAE Penal Code”) which sets of the legal provisions that determine actions recognized as crimes under the penal code and also sets out the penalties incurred for such crimes. Article 354 of the UAE penal code defines ‘Rape’ as, ‘Without prejudice to the provisions of the Law on juvenile delinquents and displaced, death penalty shall be imposed on whoever used coercion in having sexual intercourse with a female or sodomy with a male. Coercion shall be considered committed if the victim is below fourteen years of age when the crime is perpetrated, or if the crime is committed against a person whose will is not recognized due to young age, insanity or dementia’. Further, Article 355 states that ‘Attempt to perpetrate the crimes stipulated in the preceding article shall be sanctioned to life imprisonment. And article 356 states, ‘Without prejudice to the 2 preceding articles, temporary imprisonment shall be imposed on whoever commits sexual molestation against a person by coercion, threat or ruse’.

As discussed earlier, capital punishment exists in the UAE for grave crimes such as rape especially, in instances of crimes against minors and pursuant to Article 357 of the UAE penal code death penalty is sentenced if the crime results in the death of the victim. Article 357 of the UAE penal code states, ‘Should death of the victim result from one of the crimes provided for in the preceding articles, the penalty shall be the death sentence’.

In terms of rape crimes in the UAE burden of proof is often to be showcased by the witnesses. Further, false allegations of rape or sexual assault are punishable in the United Arab Emirates. As stated in Article 276 of the UAE penal code, ‘Shall be subject to a jail sentence and/or to a fine, whoever falsely and with bad faith makes a false report to the judicial or administrative authorities that a person committed something which deserves a criminal penalty or an administrative sanction even if it did not entail filing a criminal or disciplinary action, as well as whoever fabricated false material evidence that a person has perpetrated a crime, or caused taking legal measures against a person knowing that he is innocent. The penalty shall be a jail sentence and fine should the fake crime be a felony. In case the false accusation result in inflicting a felony penalty, the slanderer shall be sanctioned to the same adjudged penalty.’

The crime rate in the UAE is comparatively lower when compared to most countries worldwide. This includes sexual crimes. The crime rate in the UAE for rape and sexual assaults is as low as 1.5 per every 100,000 women. When you compare this statistic to that of the USA, the crime rate for rape is 27 per 100,000 women in the USA. Stringent law enforcement in the UAE accounts for the lower statistics of sexual crimes in the country and also ensures that steps are taken to reduce the crime rate further with the aim to achieve the lowest level of crime rate in the world in the coming years. It is also realized that much stigma exists in instances of sexual crimes that often due to pressures from family members such crime also goes unreported. The police department, public prosecutors and judges are partnering on best practices to ensure better enforcement and sensitive handling of such cases. Women in the police force are secured special training in handling rape crimes and also to ensure support to women who are victims of such crimes.

Prior to the amendments introduced by federal decree no. 15 of 2020 introduced on 27th September 2020 to the UAE penal code, voluntary sexual intercourse between consenting adults outside marriage was considered a crime. Using the said language, victims of sexual assaults could be charged for illicit sex and for violating this Law. Now, with the recent changes, voluntary sexual intercourse is no longer punishable in the UAE if both parties are adults and provided that the consent has not been obtained through coercion. The UAE has been continuously working to create a more secure environment that protects and strengthens women’s rights in the emirates, and these recent amendments reflect such progressive steps.

Source: lexology.com, Hassan Elhais, May 11, 2021

🚩 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Tennessee Woman Christa Pike Survives Lethal Injection, Ends Up in Hospital; Governor Halts Executions

Tennessee unable to carry out the execution by lethal injection of Christa Gail Pike Tennessee officials were unable to put Christa Gail Pike to death for a 1995 murder Wednesday, media witnesses said, after the lethal injection was halted for hours as courts considered a last-minute appeal of what would have been the state's 1st execution of a woman in at least 200 years. Pike, 50, had been scheduled for execution for a killing she committed at age 18 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned an appeals court ruling that stopped the lethal injection just an hour before it was to start. Officials then attempted to go ahead with it as planned.

Florida | He executed death row prisoners. Then they came back to haunt him

Dunnellon, Florida—Every night, one of the men Ron McAndrew killed would sit at the foot of his bed and stare, blankly, into his tortured soul. He knew they were coming. He’d shift over in his sheets to make room. “They never said anything,” McAndrew recalls, his aged voice straining from the weight of the memory. “They just sat there and looked at me.” But their eyes would talk. They would ask, "How could you do such a thing?’” says McAndrew. “You always claimed to be a good person. And now you’re killing people.”

Tennessee | Governor permits Christa Pike execution: 'I am upholding the sentence'

Gov. Bill Lee does not plan to stop Christa Pike's execution. Pike, 50, is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. “After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene," Lee said in a statement released Sept. 28. Pike's attorneys lamented the news.

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade. On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar. According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.

Florida executes Curtis Beasley

A 77-year-old man convicted of killing a woman with a hammer has become the 16th person executed this year in Florida A 77-year-old Florida man was put to death Tuesday for his conviction in a deadly hammer attack on a woman decades ago, becoming the 16th person executed to date this year in the nation’s busiest death chamber. Curtis Wilkie Beasley was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted of 1st-degree murder, robbery, and grand theft auto in the 1995 hammer attack on Carolyn Monfort at her home south of Orlando.

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

DNA evidence doesn’t match man who spent decades on death row, Utah prosecutors say

Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, was sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Eva Olesen Prosecutors are dropping their plan to seek the death penalty in an upcoming retrial of a Utah man who spent decades on death row for a 1985 killing in which newly analyzed DNA evidence did not match him. Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, was sentenced to death in 1985 after a jury found him guilty of murdering Eva Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief. The state Supreme Court last year ordered a new trial, citing misconduct by investigators. Carter remains in custody and maintains his innocence.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog