Student cleared of rape after jury reverses verdict

A jury has reversed a rape conviction for a student who was previously found guilty of attacking a woman he met in a nightclub.

Waleed Alharbi, 26, from Saudi Arabia, faced a total of three trials at Winchester Crown Court.

He was convicted in December of charges of rape and attempted rape at his student flat in Portsmouth.

However, it later emerged that the conviction was unsafe. A second jury failed to reach verdicts and a third found the defendant not guilty of both charges.

Alharbi's barrister Philippa McAtasney KC said: "This defendant went through an ordeal and despite being a man of good character, he spent 11 months in custody."

Previously, the court was told Alharbi met the woman at the Astoria nightclub and they left together in the early hours of 28 June 2025.

Alharbi carried the drunken woman part of the way to his shared apartment in Greetham Street, prosecutors said.

The language school student told the court their sex was consensual.

Following the guilty verdicts, it emerged that when the jury was in retirement, it was given footage of the complainant's interview which it should not have had.

The Court of Appeal ordered a retrial which resulted in a hung jury and a third jury cleared the defendant after deliberating for four hours.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the case was now closed.

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.