Croatia payout rapists’ support from friends online
FRIENDS of the three disgraced Croatia rapists have leapt to the defence of the men, with one using the hashtag #istandwiththeboys to show their support online.
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FRIENDS of the three disgraced Croatia rapists have leapt to the defence of the men and called their teenage victim a “sl*t”.
Dylan Djohan, 23, Ashwin Kumar, 23, and Waleed Latif, 21, have returned to Melbourne after their case was finalised in the port city of Split on January 29.
The men pleaded guilty to raping a 17-year-old backpacker in a bar in Croatia last July.
Djohan, Kumar and Latif had their passports seized by Croatian authorities when they were arrested and secured their freedom after agreeing to pay their Norwegian victim $30,000.
Since the identity of the men was revealed there has been widespread outrage that the three were able to pay off their victim instead of going to jail.
But friends of the men have come to their defence on Facebook, with one man calling their teenage victim a “sl*t”.
MORE: MEN ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA AFTER CROATIA RAPE PAYOUT
One friend, who the Herald Sun has chosen not to name, posted a message last night which said: “Weird 17 yr old at a nightclub, underage to me if thats the rule in Croatian clubs, no witnesses even locals there heard of nothing, its simple 1. its called being a sl*t, lying about her age 2. Baited for payout 3. A girl could not possibility out muscle 3 men. 4. Most cased the victim gets bashed or killed neither happen 5. She knew what she was getting herself into....Extortion is the word. #istandwiththeboys (sic)”
Within an hour the post had attracted more than 20 likes, with another friend of the men commenting: “The 3 best blokes and most genuine people you would ever meet!”
The case has attracted headlines around the world, with women’s rights campaigners slamming the decision of the Croatian courts to allow the men to go free by paying off their victim.
Djohan, Kumar and Latif were due to go back before the courts last Monday but prosecutors and defence lawyers made a deal to get the men off on a plea and conditional jail sentence.
Under the deal each of the men pleaded guilty to rape and received a sentence of one year in jail, to be immediately suspended to be of good behaviour for five years.
The good-behaviour bond is enforceable in Europe but not in Australia if they were to commit offences here.
Djohan, Kumar and Latif have refused to talk to the Herald Sun about their case.
Djohan is a nightclub promoter who has worked as a topless waiter in the past and Latif is a former RMIT student who worked at a muscle supplements store in Werribee.
The three faced serving 15 years in jail if a deal had not been reached.
The court heard the men were drinking in a bar in the Bacvice area of Split about 1.30am on July 16 last year.
One of the men took a 17-year-old Norwegian girl towards the toilets and his two friends joined them. They began to assault her but she fought them off and reported the incident to police.
Djohan, Kumar and Latif were arrested and charged with rape and having ‘endangered the girl’s sexual freedom”. Forensic evidence on her clothes linked the three men with having sexually assaulted her.
Two admitted having consensual sex with her while the third is believed to have denied any liaison, although traces suggested otherwise. Such out-of-court settlements are common in Croatia.
Law expert and Split lawyer Mladen Ostro said deals like this became common in “Croatian criminal law in the last few years.”