Three asylum seekers have gone on trial accused of gang-raping a woman on a beach.
Egyptian national Karin Al-Danasurt is facing four counts of rape, while countryman Ibrahim Mohamed Alshafe and Iranian Abdulla Amih Ahmadi are each facing two.
Al-Danasurt is also accused of sharing videos of the alleged attack.
The trio, all in their twenties, appeared at Hove Crown Court today, assisted by translators.
Prosecutor Hanna Llewelyn-Waters is expected to open the case tomorrow.
The defendants are alleged to have each raped the woman on a section of Brighton beach on October 4 last year.
The woman was 33 at the time and said to have been vulnerable, it was previously reported.
She cannot be named because sexual offence complainants are granted anonymity.
Karin Al-Danasurt, an Egyptian national, is accused of raping a woman on Brighton beach in October last year
Ibrahim Alshafe, also from Egypt, is accused of raping the same woman
Addressing the court, the judge Her Honour Christine Henson KC warned jurors would be shown footage of the incident.
She said: ‘This case concerns alleged rapes by three men of one woman on Brighton beach in the early hours of October 4, 2025.
‘As part of the evidence, pixelated footage of the incident will be played to you.’
The jury comprises seven women and five men.
The judge added: ‘Don’t form any rush views – keep an open mind throughout the trial.’
The judge also urged jurors to treat evidence objectively, regardless of a witness’s ‘lifestyle’.
She said: ‘Don’t fall into the trap of thinking someone is less worthy of belief because of lifestyle choices.
‘People go out, get drunk, they party, they get high. They may do it for no reason at all.’
She said someone wearing ‘suggestive clothing’ did not mean they were ‘up for having sex’.
‘The lived experience of a sexual assault may well not be remembered in a neat, consistent, forensic parcel so you will want to bear that in mind,’ the judge added.
‘It is well established through the courts that a traumatic event can affect memory and the ability to particularise details and the order of events.’
The Home Office previously confirmed all three defendants arrived in the UK via small boats and had pending decisions on their asylum claims.
The defendants – Al-Danasurt, 20, and Alshafe, 25, both from Horsham; and Ahmadi, 26, from Crewe – deny the charges and the trial continues.
