24-year-old Marte Deborah Dalelv, a Norwegian woman at the center of a rape claim she made only to be given a 16-month sentence for reportedly having illicit sex was pardoned on Monday, and is free to leave the country, the Associated Press reported.
After going to Dubai police in March saying that she was raped by a co-worker, she was charged with having sex outside of marriage instead. Her public statements about the 16-month sentence drew condemnation by many in the Western media.
Dalelv expressed that she "was very, very, happy... overjoyed," upon news of her pardon.
"I have my passport back. I am pardoned," she added.
Dalelv worked for an interior design firm in Qatar and was in Dubai for a business meeting at the time of the rape in March. Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told the NTB, the country's news agency that international media attention and Norway's diplomatic measures helped Dalelv, who was free on appeal with her next court hearing scheduled for early September.
"The United Arab Emirates and Dubai is a rapidly changing society. This decision won't only affect Marte Dalelv, who can travel home now if she wishes to, but also serve as a wake-up call regarding the legal situation in many other countries," Eide added.
"I have to thank some very special people," Dalelv said. These included local groups that supported her in the case.
Dubai is seen as a cosmopolitan hub for many Western businesses, however this glamorous hotspot has clashed with its own brand of Islamic-based legal codes.
