Qatar rape victim convicted of adultery

Qatar is to deport a Dutch woman who was convicted of adultery on Monday and given a one-year suspended sentence after she reported being raped while on holiday in Doha.

The 22-year-old, known only as Laura and who was not in court, was also fined 3,000 Qatari riyals ($800) and will be deported once she pays the fine, court officials said. She had denied the charge against her.

The male defendant, said by a court official to be Syrian and named as Omar Abdullah al-Hasan, was sentenced to 100 lashes for having illicit sex and 40 lashes for drinking alcohol. Hasan, who was also not present in court, will undergo a medical examination to see if he is fit enough to withstand his punishment. He will not serve any time in jail but will also be deported from the Gulf state once he has been punished.

Dutch ambassador to Qatar Yvette Burghgraef-van Eechoud, who was present in the packed courtroom, told reporters that the embassy would help Laura to leave Qatar.

“We will do everything to get her out of the country as soon as possible to where she wants to go,” Mr Eechoud said.

The envoy added that she expected Laura to leave Qatar, which will host the football World Cup in 2022, within the next few days. The ambassador added that she had spoken to Laura on Sunday and said that “under the circumstances she was doing fine”. In the Netherlands, Laura’s mother said she had not yet spoken to her daughter but was ”so happy” at the news of her release. “I do not know yet when she gets home, but this is not most important,” she told the Dutch television NOS website.