The mother of a teenage French boy who was raped in Dubai has won her campaign for justice for her son and for reform of the treatment of rape victims in the Emirates.

Véronique Robert today claimed victory after a court sentenced two Emiratis to 15 years in jail for kidnapping and sexually assaulting her son Alexandre, and the Dubai Government pledged to meet her demand to open rape victim centres.

Ms Robert has waged a vociferous and sustained campaign to expose what she calls the dark side of Dubai.

“This is a great victory for us we’ve changed the system. What’s done is done but what this means is that it will not happen to other people,” Ms Robert told The Times.

“I made them discover some dark parts of their system. Dubai is not the paradise it pretends to be.”

Habib Al Mullah, a government spokesman, confirmed that centres would be opened to help victims of rape after Ms Robert’s campaign demanding better treatment of children who suffer sexual assault.

Ms Robert accused the authorities of lacking sensitivity in their handling of her 15-year-old son, who was raped by three men in Dubai. After the attack, she said the police accused him of past homosexual behaviour and inventing the assault to cover it up.

The French-Swiss teenager was living with his father when he was abducted with a 16-year-old friend while they returned home from a mall in Dubai on July 14.

Three men drove the boys to the edge of the desert and threatened them with a stick and a knife before taking turns to sexually assault Alexandre.

While she was delighted to have won recognition that more needs to be done for rape victims, Ms Robert admitted that her son was hoping for a heavier sentence.

“Alexandre was really disappointed. FIfteen years is nothing in his mind, he wanted the death penalty.”

Ms Robert said that the elder of the defendants, who is HIV positive, should have been jailed for life. The Swiss national said the family was waiting for medical results to confirm that her son was not HIV positive or had contracted hepatitis C.

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