An asylum seeker accused of gang raping a woman on a Brighton beach has told a court he was threatened by two police officers who 'turned up in the middle of the night' to his cell. 

Iranian national Abdulla Ahmadi, 26, is on trial accused of repeatedly raping a woman last October.   

Ahmadi, speaking through an interpreter, told the court the officers came to his cell at 3am demanding he sign a document.

He said the officers told him he would spend seven years in prison if he did not comply and sign it.

The claim came after Ahmadi was asked whether he had signed a statement he had made earlier to police. 

He told the court he believed his words had been changed and that he was intimidated in his cell. 

He said: 'They came to me at 3am in the morning and they said if you don't sign this paper you will be imprisoned for seven years.'

Hanna Llewellyn-Water, prosecuting, said Ahmadi was putting an 'evil spin' on claims police threatened him with prison, pointing out his legal team had never mentioned the incident.

She asked him: 'You're lying aren't you?,' to which Ahmadi replied: 'I'm not lying.'

Ms Llewellyn-Water said: 'Did you tell your solicitor that two police officers turned up in the middle of the night and threatened you to sign a piece of paper.'

He said: 'Yes. I did tell my solicitor and he advised me to leave it for now but I want the jury to know everything.'

Ms Llewellyn-Waters replied: 'No police officers turned up at your cell and threatened you, did they?'

Ahmadi said: 'I'm not making it up myself. I know it happened. Ask Ibrahim, he will say I was afraid, I was scared.'

Responding, Ms Llewellyn-Waters asked him: 'Why are you smiling. You are entirely opportunistic aren't you?

'Lies trip out of your mouth don't they?'

Ms Llewellyn-Waters said police asking Ahmadi to sign a document digitally is standard procedure, allowing officers to download his pin number to give them access to his phone. 

She said: 'That is a RIPA notice. If you fail to comply it is a criminal offence and you refused to sign it.'

Ahmadi replied: 'Nobody told me that.'

Ms Llewellyn-Waters said: 'Nonsense.' 

Ahmadi and Egyptian national Ibrahim Alshafe, 25, are accused of repeatedly gang raping a 33-year-old woman last October. 

Another man, Egyptian national Karin Al-Danasurt, allegedly filmed the attack and egged the two men on. 

All three men are charged with raping the woman, while Al-Danasurt faces an additional charge of sharing intimate videos of the assault. 

The jury was shown CCTV footage allegedly showing the complainant walking down a ramp to the beach alongside Ahmadi and accomplice Alshafe.

Ms Llewellyn-Waters said: 'Let me suggest to you that the complainant came out of Burger King and she was clearly alone and that you and Mr Alshafe, at the very least, spotted that and you decided to take her to the beach for your sexual gratification.'

The clip appears to show the woman falling to the ground while descending the ramp, and being aided by the defendants. 

When asked why she fell, Ahmadi replied: 'Maybe she had a problem with her shoes or stepped over my foot or Ibrahim's foot.'

Ms Llewellyn-Waters then asked Ahmadi if he looked at the woman as they went down the ramp and whether he noticed she had one boot up and one boot down. 

She said: 'Did you even notice that about her? Were you interested at all in her as a being? Was she just a walking orifice to you?'

She then inquired if Ahmadi asked the woman if she needed help after the fall. 

He said: 'She asked for help and I helped her to stand.'

Ms Llewellyn-Waters said: 'So you asked her?'

Ahmadi replied: 'I asked are you okay and she said "I'm okay".'

Turning to the footage, Ms Llewellyn-Waters said it clearly displayed the complainant stumbling as she gets to her feet before walking unsteadily down the ramp. 

She asked Ahmadi if he considered that to 'be the walking of someone who is normal and sober?' to which he replied: 'She was walking normally.'

Ms Llewellyn-Waters then said: 'You have been standing on the street when a woman, a complete stranger, comes up to you and puts her hand on your penis under your clothing.

'You then say she pushes you and Mr Alshafe down onto the beach so desperate is she to have sex with you two. 

'With all of that mind do you not think it strange that not once does she try to put her hands in your clothing and touch you?'

Ahmadi replied that she did touch him when they went to the beach shack.

She then asked Ahmadi why in the descriptions of how the order of the sexual activity unfolded were there discrepancies between his account to the police and his account on the stand. 

She asked: 'Isn't this the reality that you and Mr Alshafe have realised there are discrepancies between your two sets of lies so you have now tried to shift your account to avoid the contradictions between your account and Mr Alshafe's there were differences in what he told police?'

Ahmadi gave no answer. 

Ms Llewellyn-Waters then told the court the evidence Ahmadi was giving is 'a pack of lies.' 

She said: 'The three of you were entirely predatory towards her. You knew the state she was in. You got her onto the beach and did what you wanted to her.'

Ahmadi replied: 'No we didn't do that. I didn't rape her.'

The prosecutor added: 'You degraded her and thought it was funny?'

He said: 'No.' 

Hove Crown Court previously heard the alleged rape occurred after Ahmadi and Alshafe met the woman on the seafront after leaving a nightclub. 

Ahmadi said the woman walked up to the pair and kissed them both. 

After kissing him, Ahmadi claimed the woman grabbed his genitals before doing the same to Alshafe. 

Her Honour Judge Christine Henson KC asked him: 'Did you feel comfortable with this woman touching your penis with your friend standing there?'

He said: 'It was very normal, it was very common. She came to us, we did not go to her.'

The court heard the woman then suggested they have sex together, allegedly saying something akin to 'come to sex' before leading the men onto Brighton beach. 

Asked if he heard his friend discussing anything else with the woman, Mr Ahmadi said: 'Nothing, probably some small or basic words.'

All three men said they spoke only very limited English. 

Ahmadi said the two of them were having 'consensual sex' with the woman behind a beach shack when Al-Danasurt arrived and began filming the incident. 

Alshafe and Ahmadi claim Al-Danasurt grabbed the woman's face, forced her mouth open and then spat in it. 

He also allegedly called the woman a 'dirty b****' multiple times, leading her to become angry. 

Three short videos of the alleged rape were played to the court - one 29 seconds long, one 22 seconds and the other eight seconds - which was apparently recovered from Al-Danasurt's phone.

The jury were told Alshafe and Ahmadi arrived to the UK in June 2025 by small boats, while Al-Danasurt had arrived in September 2024 by the same method.

All three men had been staying at the Cisswood House Hotel, Horsham, West Sussex - a Home Office-approved hotel for those either seeking or appealing their asylum and immigration status.

The court heard the men had got ready at their hotel before catching a bus into Brighton for a night out.

They had gone to Revolution Club first before leaving in the early hours of the morning and going to the nearby Horizon nightclub.

The alleged rape happened after all three defendants and the complainant left the nightclub.

All three men deny all the charges.

The trial continues.