Man says he tried to fight off Libyan soldiers who allegedly raped him
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Version 0 of 1. A man allegedly raped by two Libyan soldiers training in the UK described his attackers as “animals” as he told how he tried to fight them off. Moktar Ali Saad Mahmoud, 33, and Ibrahim Abugtila, 23, deny raping and aiding and abetting the rape of the man in his 20s on Christ’s Pieces, a park in Cambridge, on 26 October. The pair were arrested while undergoing training at Bassingbourn barracks in Cambridgeshire as part of an agreement by the British government to help Libya after the 2011 collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Cambridge crown court heard on Wednesday that the pair acted like “hunting dogs”, picking off a victim who was drunk and vulnerable after a night out. In a police interview, the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said: “They were horrendous, they weren’t human ... They were horrendous people, they were sick people.” In video footage recorded at the scene by officers who attended the incident, the victim said he had been targeted by “some random guys” who did not speak English as he walked through the city alone. The man told the officers: “I cannot believe what I’m saying, they raped me. It was horrible, I feel horrible. Don’t say anything to my mum.” In a later interview he said “three Arab guys” had raped him. Describing them as “animals”, he added: “I was trying my hardest. I was trying my hardest and they were like overpowering me. “They pushed me down on the floor. They wouldn’t let me leave.” The two rapes are said to have taken 38 minutes and the victim contacted police to report the attack minutes after the men fled. Earlier the court was played the 13-minute 999 call. The man is heard saying: “I’m really scared, can you just come and meet me please?” Opening the case, prosecutor John Farmer described how the accused met their alleged victim, a “complete stranger”, in the centre of the city at 3.26am. Farmer said: “They behaved like two hunting dogs who had seen a wounded animal. “They effectively took him over and, initially not using too much force and later more forcefully, kept him going in the direction they wanted him to go.” Farmer said both accept they had sex with the man but say he consented. They say he made up the allegation after stealing money from them. Following the allegation the Ministry of Defence sent 300 soldiers back to their home country prematurely, ending an agreement to put 2,000 soldiers through basic infantry and junior command training in an attempt to help rebuild Libya. The trial is expected to end next week. |