Gulf Daily News

Kuwait, Aug 5: A Bahraini mother, who claims she was raped by 11 Kuwaiti men, has decided to stay in Kuwait for some time.

Her mother reportedly went to Kuwait to offer her moral support while the investigation is still in progress.

However, Kuwaiti officials have returned the passport to her and told her that she was welcome to stay or return to Bahrain, reported the Kuwait Times.

A medical examination carried out during the investigation revealed that the woman was not pregnant, while one of the suspected rapists has been remanded in custody for 21 days for further interrogation.

The 20-year-old woman was allegedly raped by 11 youths over four nights until she managed to escape and report them to police.

A medical report is understood to have shown she was subjected to rape and torture.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry dismissed some of the woman's claims, stating that she was a runaway and that she was in Kuwait to meet her lover, who later forced her to have sex with four other men.

It said the woman had escaped to find a job in Kuwait with the help of her lover.

The alleged victim's mother has joined her in Kuwait while investigation is in progress, according to a Bahrain rights activist who has taken up the case.

The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS) has formed a committee to handle the woman's case and are preparing a legal support team, which will travel to Kuwait if needed, said the society's regional and international director Faisal Fulad. The committee is also organizing follow-up support for the woman and her child after the court case is over, he said.