Alleged British rape victim charged with extra-marital sex in Dubai

A British woman has been charged with having extra-marital sex in Dubai after reporting she was raped by two British men.

The woman was released on bail, but had her passport confiscated.

"We are supporting a British woman in relation to this case and will remain in contact with her family," the Foreign Office said on Thursday, according to the BBC.

The two men, reportedly from Birmingham, have also had their passports confiscated, although no charges have levelled against them. The Foreign Office is also understood to be in contact with them.

A pictured released on the instagram account of an actor from the Only Way Is Essex TV programme appeared to show the actor lounging with the two men.

The alleged victim, who is 25-years old and needs £24,000 for legal fees, is said to be staying with an English family and "absolutely terrified" according to a friend of the family.

“They have taken her passport as lawyers thrash it out," the friend told the Sun.

“She went to the police as the victim as one of the worst ordeals imaginable but she is being treated as the criminal.”

Radha Stirling, of the campaign organisation Detained in Dubai, said that it was still not safe for women in the Emirate to report allegations of sexual assault to the police.

"We have been involved with several cases in the past where this has happened, and we work with the lawyers and families and have campaigned to change attitudes in the police and judiciary," she told the BBC.

"Recent cases... show that it is still not safe for victims to report these crimes to the police without the risk of suffering a double punishment".

Dubai's strict laws on sexuality have caused trouble for foreigners before.

Two Britons accused of having sex on the Emirate's Jumeirah Beach were jailed for three months in 2008.

The UK's Foreign Office has previously stated that Britons are proportionately more likely to be arrested in the UAE than any other country.