Trio of asylum seekers deny raping lady on Brighton seaside in early hours
Three asylum seekers have stood before a court, denying allegations of raping a woman on Brighton beach.
Sussex police were alerted to an incident where a woman was reportedly raped on the lower esplanade in Brighton around 5am on October 4. Karin Al-Danasurt, a 20-year-old Egyptian residing in Horsham, appeared at Hove Crown Court facing four charges of raping the same woman, all of which he denied.
Abdulla Ahmadi, an Iranian national living in Crewe, and Ibrahim Alshafe, also Egyptian and based in Horsham, were each accused of two counts of raping the same woman. Both 25 year olds vehemently denied all charges.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Al-Danasurt also refuted a charge of distributing intimate images without consent.
A trial, expected to last three weeks, has been scheduled for March 16 next year.
The trio were remanded in custody.
Judge Jeremy Gold KC, speaking through Kurdish and Arabic interpreters, advised them: “It is very important that you co-operate with your solicitors in the preparation of this trial.”
Meanwhile, former BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault this morning.
The former DJ stood in the glass dock with his hands clasped in front of him when he was arraigned on all 15 counts. The court heard that three of the alleged indecent assault offences allegedly took place at the BBC Studios in 1996.
He entered the pleas at Southwark Crown Court. The 68-year-old, who arrived at court wearing a black hooded coat over a maroon shirt and black trousers, is alleged to have committed offences against seven women between 1983 and 2016.
He was granted bail by the court but ordered to not contact the complainants ahead of a pre-trial review hearing which will take place on a date to be decided in December next year.
Judge Tony Baumgartner set a provisional trial date for January 25, 2027, before Westwood left the dock.
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