Two Libyan men were jailed for a total of 25 years yesterday after jurors unanimously found one of them guilty of raping a Swedish girl and the other of assisting him.

The girl, who was holidaying in Malta with a friend, was raped by one man of the men while the other held her down in Shingles Bay, St Julians in 2006.

Nader Abdulaziz Elgerian was found guilty of raping the girl and of relapsing.

Hasan Mohamed Ahmed was found guilty of assisting him.

While making his pleas on punishment, the head of the Prosecution Unit at the Attorney General's Office, lawyer Anthony Barbara said that there might have never been such a clearer guilty verdict on all charges as in this case.

"Instead of coming to Malta for a holiday, the girls were subjected to trauma that would not be easily forgotten throughout their lives". He added that the punishment should reflect the personal suffering of the girl and serve as a deterrent to Maltese citizens and foreigners alike.

Defence lawyer Joe Brincat said that although Mr Elgerian had been found guilty of relapsing, raising his punishment to reflect this was not mandatory, adding that Mr Ahmed had a clean police record.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono took into consideration the pleas on punishment and the gravity of the case. He said he also considered the fact that Mr Elgerian had already been found guilty of theft and was an illegal immigrant. Mr Elgerian was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and Mr Ahmed was jailed for 10 years. They were also fined €4,237.96 each.

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