In a bizzare turn of events, the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates has given a full pardon to Marte Deborah Dalelv, the Norwegian criminal who was apprehended by the authorities after showing up to a police station and reporting that she had been raped. .



The decision to pardon the rape victim have stunned residents of the UAE, a country where rape victims are generally imprisioned or fined without issue.



The rape victim has said she will return home to Norway but was told that she is free to stay in the UAE as long as she no longer tries to tell people if she is sexually assaulted.



While a majority of UAE residents believe this is an isolated incident, a growing number of residents are becoming afraid that this may embolden more women may try to report rapes.



Men normally have nothing to fear from a woman reporting a rape, as the woman can be charged with many different crimes for reporting sexual assault. Anything from making false statement to drinking alcohol or having sex outside of a marriage. However, as was in the case of Marte Deborah Dalelv, her rapist also had to be imprisoned for drinking alcohol and sex outside a marriage. Had he been sober and unmarried he would have merely been charged with the much less severe crime of “illegal sex”. He could even deny that they had sex and he would be charged with nothing.



While Dubai residents are relieved that the rapist has been released from his unjust imprisionment, many are worried that there’s a rape victim roaming the streets. Some activists are calling on the Federal Supreme Council to pass a law to create a sex offense victim registry database to keep track of these dangerous individuals and to alert residents when a rape victim moves into their neighboorhood.



Others are determined to not let fear of rape victims run their lives. One citizen was quoted as saying “I’ve been raping my whole life and I’m not going to stop because I’m afraid I’ll get reported. As soon as you stop raping, that’s when the rape victims win.”