In March of this year, a 24-year-old Norwegian woman, Marte Deborah Dalelv, was raped during a Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) business trip and reported the assault to the local police. Shortly after filing the report, UAE police summarily rejected the young woman's complaint, and confiscated her passport. She was then incarcerated for days, before being allowed to use a telephone. As her father, who has visited his daughter several times since the arrest, recounted, She called after four days in jail and told me that she had been raped and was in jail. I was totally shocked. In my view, this is completely absurd. It's a natural reaction to go to the police when you have been raped. You don't expect to be sent to jail yourself. Assisted by family members, and the Norwegian consulate, the unfortunate young woman was able to negotiate a release, and she has been living under the protection of the Norwegian Sailor's Church pending a "legal" decision on her case. This Wednesday, July...(Read Full Post)