Three men who raped woman on Brighton beach jailed
Three men who raped a woman on Brighton beach in a “totally predatory, callous and degrading” attack have been jailed.
Asylum seekers Abdulla Ahmadi, Ibrahim Alshafe and Karin Al-Danasurt attacked the woman in the early hours of October 4.
The victim, who jurors heard was “taken into the dark to be used as a sexual toy”, said she could still hear their laughter when she closed her eyes, adding: “My skin tingles, no matter how hard I scrub, I still feel dirty.”
Ahmadi, 26, from Iran, and Alshafe, 26, from Egypt, were sentenced to 21 years in prison each. Al-Danasurt, 21, also Egyptian, was found guilty of rape as a secondary party for filming the attack and was sentenced to 18 years and six months in prison.
Sentencing the three men at Hove Crown Court, Judge Christine Henson KC said each had “participated in a completely predatory and callous attack”.
He added: “The impact on your victim was and continues to be devastating. It had a profound and irreversible, life-changing impact on her.”
The men, who were living in a Home Office hotel in Horsham at the time of the crime, will each spend a further six years on extended license and serve two-thirds of their sentences before being considered for parole.
Warning: Some readers may find the following details upsetting.
The court had previously heard from prosecutor Hanna Llewellyn-Waters KC.He said the three men “surveilled women for sexual purposes that night” while visiting bars and nightclubs on Brighton seafront.
The men leaving the club crossed paths with the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at a fast food restaurant and they all went to the beach together.
Jurors heard the woman was “staggering in the street” and “clumsy”.
Alshafe and Ahmadi took her behind a beach hut and raped her while Al-Danasurt suffered the ordeal.
It was heard at the hearing that the woman was spat on, kicked and her throat was held during the attack.
Alshafe described in court as ‘predatory’ [Eddie Mitchell]
While Alshafe and Ahmadi attempted to argue during the trial that the encounter was consensual, Al-Danasurt claimed he filmed to try to help the woman by capturing potential evidence.
His victims said he regained consciousness while lying on the beach and thought he was going to be killed.
Through tears, he told the court that every time he closed his eyes he saw “the face of the person filming” smiling at him.
‘Voices will never be silent’
In her statement read to the court, the woman said: “If I could do anything, I would go back to that night and never go out.
“When I close my eyes, all I see is the man filming it. All I can hear is the seagulls, the waves and the laughter in my head.”
He said: “Sometimes it feels like the voices will never stop.
“I ask myself what kind of person, let alone three, would do that.”
She continued: “No matter how hard I scrub my skin, it still feels dirty.
“I doubt I’ll ever visit the beach there again.
“They took something from me that no one had the right to do.”
Abdulla Ahmadi attempted to claim during the trial that the encounter was consensual [Eddie Mitchell]
The court was told the three defendants knew each other and lived in a Home Office-approved hotel for asylum seekers in Lower Beeding, near Horsham, West Sussex.
Ahmadi and Alshafe met on a small boat arriving in the UK from France in June 2025, while Alshafe and Al-Danasurt, who arrived in the UK in October 2024, were roommates at the hotel.
The evening before the attack, the three got ready at the hotel before catching the bus to Brighton.
The jury was told that on a night out the friends went to a beachside bar and nightclub where Alshafe chatted to a woman using Google Translate about his hopes of marrying a woman, having children and obtaining citizenship in the UK.
The prosecution told the court he was a “disgusting little predator” who was rejected by several women that night and was “on the prowl” with the other defendants.
The jury heard that after the attack the men returned to their hotel by bus and had a barbecue that evening.
‘An arrogant and entitled attitude’
Judge Henson said: “Each of you treated him with contempt and each of you played a part in further degrading him in the most appalling way.
“The arrogant and entitled attitude that each of you displayed that night continued throughout your trial.”
He also praised the victim, saying: “I hope he can now focus on the tremendous courage he showed in contacting the police and providing the jury with evidence that will allow each of you to be brought to justice.
“My hope is that he can now begin to rebuild his life.”
On Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office said the criminal court must make its decision on the risk posed by defendants “regardless of the possibility that a defendant may one day be deported.”
Ministers have vowed to deport these men once they are convicted.
Additional reporting by PA Media
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