Trio on Trial for "Callous" Brighton Beach Rape

Three men have gone on trial at Hove Crown Court accused of carrying out a "cynical, predatory and callous" sexual attack on a woman on Brighton beach.

Karin Al-Danasurt, 20, denies four counts of rape and sharing intimate films of the complainant following the incident on 4 October 2025.

Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, and Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, each deny two counts of rape in relation to the same alleged attack.

The prosecution alleges the defendants targeted the woman in the early hours of the morning after she became separated from her friends during a night out.

Hanna Llewellyn-Waters, prosecuting, told the jury that the complainant was repeatedly abused for sexual gratification while in a state of incapacity due to intoxication.

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Al-Danasurt is accused of filming the alleged rapes and subsequently transmitting the recordings to a mobile device belonging to Ahmadi.

The court heard that Al-Danasurt invited police officers to view the footage during his interview, claiming it would demonstrate that no wrongdoing had occurred.

Jurors were told that Alshafe and Ahmadi took the woman behind a beach shack where they are alleged to have raped her while the incident was recorded.

Forensic medical evidence presented to the court identified DNA matches for Alshafe and Ahmadi, though samples relating to Al-Danasurt were inconclusive.

The complainant was captured on CCTV leaving the scene alongside Alshafe after having reportedly been physically assaulted and spat upon by the group.

Technical analysis of a mobile phone revealed the use of Google Translate to instruct the woman to unlock her device within minutes of the alleged attack.

The court heard that all three defendants were asylum seekers who were being housed by the Home Office in the same hotel at the time of the offences.

It was stated in court that Alshafe and Ahmadi entered the United Kingdom via a small boat crossing three months prior to the date of the incident.