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A Spanish court has dropped a rape probe against a Saudi prince who is one of the world's richest people, saying his accuser's allegations are inconsistent and do not stand up.

The ruling clearing Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, 57, was dated March 26 and released Thursday by a court in Palma in Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

The drugging and sexual assault of a young Spanish model was alleged to have occurred aboard a yacht moored at the island of Ibiza in the wee hours of Aug. 12, 2008. A judge on the popular resort island quietly closed the probe in 2010, citing a lack of evidence.

However, a higher provincial court in the Balearic Islands, which include Ibiza, accepted an appeal by the plaintiff and issued an order in September 2011 instructing the same magistrate to resume the probe and question the prince as a suspect.

The prince was listed 29th on the latest Forbes list of the world's richest people ,with a net worth of $18 billion. He is a leading investor in both Citigroup and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. media empire.

The prince said the court's final decision dismissing the allegations vindicates his argument that he was not even in Ibiza that day but rather in France with his wife, children, grandchildren and other witnesses.

The court in Palma said the accuser's version of events was riddled with inconsistencies in her several appearances to give testimony.

It said the woman did not initially accuse the prince by name as being her rapist. Rather, her lawyer did so much later. The court called this is a "procedural anomaly that since then has tainted the entire investigation."

The ruling also said she presented a photo of a group of people purporting to identify the prince as the man who allegedly raped her. There is an arrow pointing to a man in the background, and the word "rapist" written there. But the prince is standing in the foreground, front of that man.

The ruling says when asked about this, the accuser said it was her mother who drew the arrow on that and several other photos.

Read more here:
Spain Drops Rape Probe of Saudi Prince

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal says he hasn't been to Ibiza, where the rape allegedly happened in 2008, in 10 years.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A Spanish court on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that one of the world's richest men, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, raped a young woman on a yacht on the island of Ibiza in 2008.

In its ruling, the Spanish court in Palma de Mallorca found there wasn't sufficient evidence to press charges.

The prince has long maintained that he was innocent, that he hasn't been in Ibiza in more than a decade and that others have tried to impersonate him.

The prince's legal team released a statement Wednesday saying the ruling vindicates the prince, but said the legal matter has nevertheless resulted in "a grave injustice" to him.

"This news confirms what this office has been demonstrating since the court took up the case: that the alleged accusations against HRH Prince Alwaleed were false and baseless as his royal highness wasn't in Spain at that time, but in France, with his wife, children, grandchildren and accompanied by dozens of witnesses as proof that was provided by the office of the prince at the time," the legal team's statement said.

"This issue has resulted in a grave injustice against HRH Prince Alwaleed. Our client has commissioned this office to consider ways to protect other innocent people who have to face this kind of false allegations and for those to face liability for their actions," the statement said.

In September, a Spanish court reopened the investigation into the rape allegation.

The woman filed her complaint in Ibiza in August 2008, but a local judge shelved it in 2010, citing a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed, according to court documents.

Read the original post:
Spanish court dismisses woman's rape allegation against Saudi prince

MADRID A Spanish court has dropped a probe into allegations a Saudi billionaire prince raped a model on a yacht in Ibiza three years ago, according to a ruling seen by AFP Wednesday.

The case concerns Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Abdullah and one of the world's richest men, who is being asked to respond to a complaint of sexual assault against him in August 2008 by a model who was 20 at the time.

The 57-year-old has denied the allegations. He has said he was nowhere near Ibiza at the time.

A provincial court on Palma de Majorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands, on Monday ordered a stay of proceedings in the case due to the "contradictions and vagueness" of the alleged victim's testimony, the court ruling said.

"In light of recent statements by the complainant, we cannot firmly establish with evidence what happened overnight August 11-12, 2008, on the yacht," it added.

A judge in Ibiza in May 2010 ordered the case to be closed for lack of evidence. But courts later reopened the case and asked the Saudi authorities to take a statement from the accused.

Spanish law firm Oliva Ayala which represents the prince said in a statement that he was mulling legal action against the woman for "making false accusations" against him.

"This has been a grave injustice to His Royal Highness. For this, he has asked our firm to study how to proceed in order to protect other innocent people from facing similar attacks . . . " it said.

The latest ruling "confirms what we have said all along, which is that the allegations against Prince Alwaleed were not only false and outrageous but also impossible as he was not in Spain at the time but was in France with his wife, children, grandchildren and in the presence of dozens of witnesses," it added.

The woman, who has not been named by the court, believes her drink was spiked with a drug in a nightclub on Ibiza after she met the prince.

The rest is here:
Spanish court drops rape case against Saudi prince

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal says he hasn't been to Ibiza, where the rape allegedly happened in 2008, in 10 years.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A Spanish court on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that one of the world's richest men, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, raped a young woman on a yacht on the island of Ibiza in 2008.

In its ruling, the Spanish court in Palma de Mallorca found there wasn't sufficient evidence to press charges.

The prince has long maintained that he was innocent, that he hasn't been in Ibiza in more than a decade and that others have tried to impersonate him.

The prince's legal team released a statement Wednesday saying the ruling vindicates the prince, but said the legal matter has nevertheless resulted in "a grave injustice" to him.

"This news confirms what this office has been demonstrating since the court took up the case: that the alleged accusations against HRH Prince Alwaleed were false and baseless as his royal highness wasn't in Spain at that time, but in France, with his wife, children, grandchildren and accompanied by dozens of witnesses as proof that was provided by the office of the prince at the time," the legal team's statement said.

"This issue has resulted in a grave injustice against HRH Prince Alwaleed. Our client has commissioned this office to consider ways to protect other innocent people who have to face this kind of false allegations and for those to face liability for their actions," the statement said.

In September, a Spanish court reopened the investigation into the rape allegation.

The woman filed her complaint in Ibiza in August 2008, but a local judge shelved it in 2010, citing a lack of evidence that a crime had been committed, according to court documents.

See the original post here:
Rape allegation against prince tossed

MADRID - A Spanish court has dropped a probe into allegations a Saudi billionaire prince raped a model on a yacht in Ibiza three years ago, according to a ruling Wednesday.

The case concerns Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Abdullah and one of world's richest men, who is being asked to respond to a complaint of sexual assault against him in August 2008 by a model who was 20 at the time.

The 57-year-old has denied the allegations. He has said he was nowhere near Ibiza at the time.

A provincial court on Palma de Majorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands, on Monday ordered a stay of proceedings in the case due to the "contradictions and vagueness" of the alleged victim's testimony, the court ruling said.

"In light of recent statements by the complainant, we cannot firmly establish with evidence what happened overnight August 11-12, 2008, on the yacht," it added.

A judge in Ibiza in May 2010 ordered the case to be closed for lack of evidence. But courts later reopened the case and asked the Saudi authorities to take a statement from the accused.

Spanish law firm Oliva Ayala which represents the prince said in a statement that he was mulling legal action against the woman for "making false accusations" against him.

"This has been a grave injustice to His Royal Highness. For this, he has asked our firm to study how to proceed in order to protect other innocent people from facing similar attacks..." it said.

The latest ruling "confirms what we have said all along, which is that the allegations against Prince Alwaleed were not only false and outrageous but also impossible as he was not in Spain at the time but was in France with his wife, children, grandchildren and in the presence of dozens of witnesses," it added.

The woman, who has not been named by the court, believes her drink was spiked with a drug in a nightclub on Ibiza after she met the prince.

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