Man 'spat' on alleged rape victim, court hears

A man accused of filming a woman as she was allegedly being raped spat at her during the incident, according to one of his co-defendants.

Iranian national Abdulla Ahmad and Egyptian nationals Ibrahim Alshafe and Karin Al-Danasurt are accused of targeting the woman in a "cynical, predatory and callous" attack.

Ahmadi and Alshafe allegedly repeatedly raped the woman on Brighton beach in the early hours of 4 October, while Al-Danasurt videoed the incident.

All three deny the charges against them.

Giving evidence at Hove Crown Court on Friday, Ahmadi said what happened was consensual and the woman did not show any anger until Al-Danasurt spat in her face.

The 26-year-old said he stopped having sex with the woman and pushed him.

Al-Danasurt, 20, has previously denied in court spitting on the woman.

Speaking through an interpreter, Ahmadi called Al-Danasurt's action "very disgusting".

"I was very angry. I pushed him... and told him he was an animal."

"Normal people are not doing that."

He told jurors Al-Danasurt's behaviour made him leave the beach.

After the beach, Ahmadi said Alshafe and the woman were sitting on a bench "cuddling" and "kissing" when Al-Danasurt repeated spitting on her again.

He said, when he said goodbye to the woman, she kissed him and he repeatedly told her he was sorry because of Al-Danasurt's behaviour

Jurors have been told the woman had become separated from her friends on a night out.

She was "staggering in the street" alone when the three men approached her, they heard.

In his evidence, Ahmadi said the woman approached him and kissed and touched him, and then she also kissed 25-year-old Alshafe.

He told the court he heard her say the word "sex" and she took the two of them down to the beach.

All three men were asylum seekers living at a hotel near Horsham at the time of the incident.

Ahmadi and Alshafe have each denied two counts of raping the woman.

Al-Danasurt is jointly charged on all four rape counts as a secondary party "encouraging the rape by his actions at the scene, including filming it".

He has pleaded not guilty.

He denies a fifth count of "sharing intimate films" without the complainant's consent.

The charge relates to an allegation that Al-Danasurt sent recordings of the alleged rapes to Ahmadi's phone via Snapchat shortly after the incident.

Ahmadi told the court he "didn't know there was a video".

The trial continues.

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