Spanish Model Tells Court, Saudi King's Nephew Raped Her On Yacht
Ibiza, Spain, Dec 15: A Spanish fashion model with dual German citizenship has told a court here on Wednesday that she was raped by a wealthy Saudi Prince, the nephew of Saudi King on a
Ibiza, Spain, Dec 15: A Spanish fashion model with dual German citizenship has told a court here on Wednesday that she was raped by a wealthy Saudi Prince, the nephew of Saudi King on a yacht in August 2008.
The model has given a fresh testimony after prosecutors said some details needed to be clarified.
The 23-year-old woman, who arrived at court in Ibiza on Wednesday wearing a black hat and dark sunglasses, repeated her accusation against the prince, despite what her lawyer called ‘tough questioning'.
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, 56, one of the world's richest men with an estimated fortune of £ 12.3 billion, is accused of raping the model in Ibiza three years ago.
The alleged victim claims she was lured on to the 384ft yacht Turama after her drink was spiked in a nightclub on the island.
The prince is a leading investor in both Citigroup and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire, and held 26th place on this year's Forbes list of the world's richest people.
He is the nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and bought London's Savoy Hotel in 2005 for £250million.
CNN said a statement issued by the prince's lawyer in Madrid reiterated the innocence of the billionaire.
The statement said the prince was with his family in France in August 2008, on a visit documented by his passport, mobile phone records, hotel receipts, photographs, video and eyewitness accounts.
The prince and his lawyers were not present at the hearing, but he insists he has not been in Ibiza in more than a decade, and that others have tried to impersonate him.
His lawyer Horacio Oliva said in a statement seen by CNN: ‘We strongly support the action of the Ibiza prosecutors and the judge to fully examine the false, unsubstantiated and constantly evolving story of the alleged victim, her mother and her lawyers.
'The multiple inconsistent accounts lack even one corroborating witness nor do they present a single piece of evidence regarding [the prince].'
The two-hour, closed-door hearing included the woman, two of her lawyers, the prosecutor and the investigating magistrate who is in charge of the investigation, according to CNN.
The woman, a dual Spanish and German citizen, first made the allegation in Ibiza in August 2008, but a local judge shelved it last year on grounds of insufficient evidence.
However, after the model's appeal to the Balearic Island Provisional Court, the lower court in Ibiza reopened the investigation last July.
It has made Prince Alwaleed a person ‘imputado', or someone ‘under official investigation', said CNN - which is a step short of an indictment. The prince has not yet been formally charged with any crime.
The magistrate is expected to ask the prosecutor to formulate questions that Spain will send to officials in Saudi Arabia to ask of the prince, according to CNN.
The woman's lawyer, Max Turiel, said the prosecutor's pointed questions treated her ‘as if she were the one under investigation and not the victim', reported CNN.
According to an earlier court document, the woman believed her drink had been drugged and sent a text message to a friend stating as much.
She said she awoke on a yacht to find she was being sexually assaulted by a man she identified as Prince Alwaleed.
Turiel told CNN last September that ‘there were remains of semen' that should be examined against the prince's DNA, as well as ‘remains of a tranquilizer that produced the symptoms she had'.