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Man tried to stop rape as he filmed it, court hears

Joshua AskewSouth East
Eddie Mitchell A man in a Nike jumper. Eddie Mitchell
Karin Al-Danasurt said he told the others their actions were forbidden

A man accused of filming a woman being raped by two others on Brighton beach has told a court he recorded the alleged attack as he was "trying to stop them".

Egyptian nationals Karin Al-Danasurt and Ibrahim Alshafe, plus Iranian national Abdulla Ahmadi, allegedly targeted the woman in a "cynical, predatory and callous" attack during the early hours of 4 October, 2025.

Alshafe, 25, of Lower Beeding in West Sussex, and Ahmadi, 26, of Crewe in Cheshire, are accused of repeatedly raping the woman, which they both deny.

Al-Danasurt, 20, recorded the incident, a trial at Hove Crown Court has been told.

Al-Danasurt is jointly charged with rape as a secondary party "encouraging the rape by his actions at the scene, including filming it". He has also pleaded not guilty.

Jurors heard the woman had become separated from her friends while on a girls' night out.

Prosecutors said the three defendants approached her when she was "staggering in the street" alone.

'God will expose you'

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Al-Danasurt said of his three recordings that he was trying to get Alshafe and Ahmadi to stop and also to "defend himself" so he could tell someone what happened.

Speaking through an Arabic interpreter, he said: "I told them: 'What are you doing? Guys this is haram, forbidden, this is fornication, stop."

He said he saw it was a "horrible situation".

He added: "This is the first time in my life I see something like that.

"The girl, she wasn't able to breathe normally or to take a breath."

Eddie Mitchell A man in a white uniform leads a man in dark clothing, who he is handcuffed to, out the side of a white prison van. They are pictured behind a grey wire fence.Eddie Mitchell
Abdulla Ahmadi (pictured from behind in a black top) is accused of rape

Asked about what he can be heard saying in Arabic in the video, Al-Danasurt told the jury he said to the pair: "God will expose you".

All three defendants knew each other and were residents at an asylum hotel near Horsham, West Sussex, at the time of the alleged offences.

Eddie Mitchell A man in a grey prison outfit is led into a van by two prison officersEddie Mitchell
Ibrahim Alshafe (pictured) denies the charges against him

Al-Danasurt is accused of sending the recordings of the alleged rapes to Ahmadi's phone via Snapchat shortly after the incident.

He denies a count of "sharing intimate films" without the woman's consent.

The trial continues.

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