Norway's foreign minister today said that a Dubai court's decision to jail a Norwegian woman after she reported being raped ran counter to "several conventions on human rights."
Espen Barth Eide also said that a decision by Dubai's ruler to pardon 24-year-old Marte Dalelv, who had faced 16 months in jail, would encourage people who promote democracy.
"The verdict was contrary to several conventions of human rights that the Emirates have signed and promised to upkeep, especially the UN Convention on Women," Eide said to AFP.
The full name of the document is the UN on the Elimination All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
"I hope what has happened will inspire those who work for more democracy," he added.
Dalelv's ordeal began early this year when she reported to Dubai police that she had been raped by her boss, only to be prosecuted and then convicted for extramarital sex, perjury and consumption of alcohol without licence.
Eide said he had been working on Dalelv's case since she was convicted last Tuesday, saying the brief span of time "must be a record for how fast someone has been pardoned in a case like this.
