Consensual sex in Kuwait 

(MENAFN - Arab Times) The Court of Appeals, headed by Judge Salem Al-Khodeir, overturned the verdict of the First Instance Court which had previously sentenced a Bangladeshi man to five years in prison with hard labor, to be followed by deportation, for raping a domestic helper.

According to the housemaid, the accused - her colleague - offered to accompany her to a cooperative store near their sponsors house on Feb 13. However, he took her to a room in a house adjacent to their work place and raped her. When the accused appeared in court, he denied the accusation, claiming the housemaid visited him and agreed to have sex with him.

The lower court announced its ruling on May 27 but Attorney Hisham Al-Fahad, lawyer for the accused, submitted an appeal. He argued the ruling was misplaced because there was no force or threat involved in the alleged crime. He based his argument on Article 39 of the Penal Code, while drawing the attention of the higher court to the inconsistent statements of the plaintiff.