Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@marielouna__
Topics: Dubai, Crime, Social Media
Anish Vij
A woman who was suspected to have attended a Dubai ‘porta potty party’ after being found severely injured on the side of a road has revealed the first thing she saw once she regained consciousness.
Maria Kovalchuk, a Ukrainian model, travelled to Dubai to create content back in March, but had overslept and missed her connecting flight to Thailand.
As a result, the 20-year-old met a man she had recognised from a karaoke bar in the lobby of the Five Jumeirah Village hotel.
She said the individual promised to fly her out to Thailand on his dad's private jet and also invited her to his room.
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After accepting his offer, the man was said to have thrown a party with the children of wealthy Russian and Ukrainian businessmen, where things took a dark turn.
The group started to physically abuse her after she refused to drink, as Maria claims her passport and dress were also stolen.
In only a hotel robe, she temporarily managed to escape and hide in a construction site before she was found and allegedly beaten.
Maria fell into a coma after reportedly falling 'from a height', suffering a fractured spine and is now using a wheelchair and crutches to get about.
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She doesn't remember the violence that led to her injuries, but claims the CCTV footage has now been erased.
On the first thing she saw after the attack, Maria speculated to journalist Ksenia Sobchak at Ostorozhno.Media: "Most likely, there was a blow to the head, I suppose.
"The next scene [that] I remember is me asking for help from a passing car, which had already stopped and called an ambulance and the police."
She added: "I think that maybe I was thrown. Or it was a beating. One of two options, the injuries looked like either a beating or a fall."
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The model has now moved in with her mum Anna in Norway while she recovers.
Anna said Dubai authorities quite possibly paid 'millions' for her daughter's treatment.
"The next day the case was closed, [the men] were released," the mum said.
The Dubai ‘porta potty parties’ are causing a lot of concern as it's being reported that wealthy men are luring vulnerable women to their events, promising luxuries and end up degrading these women instead.
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While there were initial concerns this is what had happened to Maria, it now does not sound like this was the case.
"I mostly use a wheelchair and crutches. I still have a leg fracture that's healing," Maria said.
"I'm learning to walk with crutches again, but for now, the wheelchair is my main means of moving around."