Tourists held, assaulted in Rio

Copacabana Beach from Mount Corcovada, Rio De Janeiro. Police say two foreign tourists were held for hours, brutalised and one of them sexually assaulted aboard a public minibus they boarded in the neighborhood.

TWO foreign tourists were held for hours, brutalised and one of them sexually assaulted aboard a public van they boarded in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach neighborhood.

Two men aged 20 and 22 have been taken into custody and a third is being sought in connection with the incident, which saw the two foreigners held for around six hours starting shortly after midnight on Saturday, police said.

The statement said the suspects forced other passengers to get out of the van and then sexually assaulted the female tourist inside the vehicle, which was one of a fleet of vans that serve bus routes and seat about a dozen people.

During the alleged assault, the tourists were driven to the poor suburban neighborhood of Sao Goncalo, where the two suspects were apprehended, the statement said.

The victims' nationalities have not been released, but local media reports have said the woman is American. Reports said the two had been studying Portuguese in Rio for about a month and that both left the country following the incident.

The statement said one of the victims' mobile phone was found in the suspects' possession. The suspects had also used a debit card belonging to one of the victims at two gas stations, the statement said.

The Globo television network broadcast surveillance camera images of two men filling up the white van and showed police images of a metal bar the suspects are thought to have used to beat and intimidate the victims.

Mugshots showing Jonathan Froudakis de Souza (left), 20, and Wallace Aparecido Silva, 22, who allegedly raped a foreign tourist in a public minibus in Rio de Janeiro. Picture: AFP

The victims positively identified the two suspects, and a Brazilian woman has said she'd also been assaulted by the pair on March 23, the statement said.

Multiple calls to police seeking further detail have not been returned.

The incident raises new questions about security in Rio, which has cracked down on once-endemic drug violence in preparation for hosting next year's soccer World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympic games.

The attack also drew comparisons with the fatal December beating and gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus. Six men beset a 23-year-old university student and male friend after they boarded a private bus, touching off a wave of protests across India demanding stronger protection for women.

In Brazil, more than 5300 cases of sexual assault were reported between January and June 2012, according to the country's Health Ministry.

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Sniffer dogs home in on tourists

Police drug raid on the Gold Coast, QLD. The haul included ecstasy, ice and guns. Ecstasy MDMA narcotic pills spilling out of plastic bag 14 Mar 2006. Picture: Derek Moore Source: The Advertiser

A BRITISH tourist and an Irish tourist were caught selling drugs during a police drug dog operation in the city yesterday.

A  25-year-old man was sniffed in Cunningham Lane, Haymarket and found to have 91 grams of cannabis and a small amount of ecstasy about 1.30am.

The British national was arrested and a search of his backpacker accommodation on George St allegedly uncovered more cannabis and ecstasy.

A few hours later on Dixon St in Haymarket police detected a 31-year-old Irish national with 161 grams of cannabis split into 29 bags.

Both men have been charged with drug supply and possession offences and refused bail to appear at Central Local Court today.

Police found both men had overstayed their travel visas and informed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

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Tourists kidnapped in Egypt

Guides ride their camels at the Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. Source: AP

ARMED Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have kidnapped two tourists, an Israeli man and a Norwegian woman, as they travelled between two beach resorts, police say.

Six gunmen intercepted the tourists' car and forced them into their truck, the officials said. The pair had been travelling between the southern resort of Taba, on the border with Israel, and Dahab.

Norway's foreign ministry confirmed one of its citizens was abducted but gave no details, while an Egyptian police official said the woman was a 31-year-old Norwegian, after having earlier identified her as Belgian.

A spate of such hostage takings, which usually last for no longer than 48 hours, broke out in the restive Sinai after an uprising in early 2011 forced out president Hosni Mubarak and battered his security services.

The kidnappers are normally Bedouin who want to trade the hostages for jailed tribesmen.

In Israel, police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP: "We received unconfirmed information that a Norwegian tourist and an Arab-Israeli man resident of Eilat, originally from the Nazareth region, were kidnapped" in the Sinai.

Israel has repeatedly warned its tourists of threats of attacks in the Sinai, where Islamist militants have waged a low-level insurgency against the military and police as well as attacks on Israel.

But the kidnapping did not appear politically motivated, with Bedouin sources in the area saying the kidnappers wanted to exchange the hostages for jailed relatives.

Two tourists travelling between the southern beach resorts of Taba and Dahab, pictured, were kidnapped in Egypt overnight.  

Bedouin kidnapped a British couple on March 7, only to release them within hours after talks with security officials. The Britons had been abducted from a bank in a town as they headed towards the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

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UAE denies torturing tourists over drugs

Three British tourists who were arrested for allegedly attempting to sell the drug Spice claim they have been tortured in prison. Picture: Mark Calleja Source: The Courier-Mail

THE United Arab Emirates rejected charges that Dubai police had tortured three young Britons arrested more than seven months ago on drugs charges, a day after a court denied them bail.

"The UAE is aware of allegations of torture of three British citizens by police in Dubai. An internal investigation was conducted and these allegations were found to be baseless," the UAE embassy in London said, in a statement carried by WAM state news agency.

According to the UK-based organisation Reprieve, Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerth, all 25, have been "subjected to torture including beatings and electric shocks" by police in the Gulf emirate.

The three tourists, arrested on July 10, face charges of possession and planning to sell just over one kilogram (2.3 pounds) of synthetic cannabis known as Spice, as well as accusations of consuming drugs, the Gulf News daily said.

If convicted, the men could face maximum jail term of 15 years each, in addition to a fine of 200,000 dirhams ($53,000), the newspaper said.

They appeared in court on Thursday after their trial opened on January 28, the daily said, adding that they were denied bail by the judge who adjourned the hearing to March 14 when prosecution witnesses will be heard.

Reprieve, which said its lawyer Marc Calcutt spoke to the defendants, claimed they were "subjected to beatings, threatened by having guns put to their heads and, in the case of Mr Williams, having electric shocks administered to the testicles."

Police took Mr Williams and Mr Cameron by surprise while in a car in a parking lot in the Dubai Marina neighbourhood while the third man was standing a few metres from the car, the daily said.

The squad found narcotics in envelopes hidden under the mats and in the trunk, it said.

The National daily said tests found the three had consumed Spice. The men said the drugs belonged to someone else and that they had consumed Spice before arriving in the United Arab Emirates, although that would also qualify as a crime in Dubai.

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