A businessman today told of his relief after being cleared of raping a drunken woman at a five-star hotel in west London.
Mohammed Aneizi, 26, was accused of attacking the woman at a suite in the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington after they had met earlier in the evening at Mayfair’s Movida nightclub.
Mr Aneizi, a web designer from Ealing, denied rape and said the woman had insisted on coming home with him.
He told the Standard: “I’m relieved it’s over and that justice has been done. I now want my privacy respected so that I can get on with my life.”
CCTV footage from inside the club showed them swigging champagne from the bottle, lying on a couch together and kissing.
The woman then returned with him and his friends to the Royal Garden Hotel where Aneizi was accused of raping her twice in the bathroom.
He then left her in the bathroom for an hour while he returned to party with his friends during which time another man in the hotel suite, Gurkhan Suleyman, 28, tried to force the woman to perform oral sex and flung £20 notes at her.
Aneizi said he had only met Suleyman that night and was talking to friends when he heard a commotion in the bathroom at 5am.
He went to investigate and found the woman lying in a foetal position surrounded by £20 notes.
A jury at Isleworth Crown Court acquitted Aneizi of two counts of rape on Friday after eight hours of deliberations.
Mr Aneizi’s lawyer David Osbourne told jurors: “She was very drunk, and when drunk made a decision to have sex with my client.
“She walked into the hotel of her own steam.”
Mr Osbourne added: “You have to wonder about club culture, it’s a recipe for disaster.
“Mr Aneizi and this lady got themselves into silly positions that night, and would have made very different choices if they were both sober.”
Mr Osbourne’s comments came a few days after the social media storm over Judy Finnigan’s comments about Ched Evans’ conviction for raping a drunken woman in a hotel room.
Suleyman, from Beaminster in Dorset, denied one count of attempted rape but was convicted.
He wept as the verdict was delivered and will be sentenced on 21 November.
