Dubai ruler pardons Norwegian woman convicted after she reported rape

This Facebook photo shows Norwegian businesswoman Marte Deborah Dalelv, 24.

Dubai (CNN) -- A Norwegian woman who was sentenced to prison in Dubai after reporting she was raped has been given a pardon and will be heading home soon, she said Monday.

Speaking to reporters in Dubai, Marte Deborah Dalelv seemed relieved and happy as she confirmed the news -- if still slightly bewildered by the swift turn of events.

"They told me that I would be pardoned and that they were going to give me my passport back -- so I got it immediately," she said.

A friend has taken the passport to a government department to get the necessary exit permit, she said.

Asked what happens next, Dalelv paused a moment before replying: "I get to go home."

She added, "We want to make it as soon as possible."

A spokeswoman for Norway's Foreign Ministry, Ragnhild Imerslund, earlier told CNN that Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had said Dalelv was free to travel where she wants and can remain in Dubai if she chooses.

The sheikh, who is vice president of the United Arab Emirates, also said the 24-year-old had not been and would not be deported, Imerslund said.

Woman reports Dubai rape, faces prison

Dalelv, a Qatar-based interior designer, was on a work trip to Dubai when she reported to police that she had been raped by a colleague at the hotel where she was staying.

She was herself then detained and charged with having unlawful sex, making a false statement and illegal consumption of alcohol. A court last week sentenced her to 16 months in prison, prompting outrage in Norway.

Dalelv is currently still in Dubai but is expected to travel in a day or two, Imerslund said.

'Contrary to fundamental human rights'

Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Eide also welcomed news of the pardon.

"Marte is released! Thanks to everyone who signed up to help #ReleaseMarte," his Twitter feed said.

Imerslund said "very constructive" dialogue between the foreign ministers of Norway and the UAE, along with international pressure and interest, led to this outcome in Dalelv's case.

On Friday, Eide had called his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to protest Dalelv's conviction as "contrary to fundamental human rights," a weekend statement from the Norwegian ministry said.

While Dubai has a reputation as a cosmopolitan city that boasts Western influences, where visitors can drink at bars and restaurants and unmarried couples can share hotel rooms, the country adheres to Islamic laws and traditions.

Having sex outside of marriage and public consumption of alcohol are both violations of the law in the United Arab Emirates.

CNN could not immediately confirm what happened to the alleged perpetrator, who was charged with public intoxication and having sex outside of marriage.

Rights record criticized

The United Arab Emirates has been heavily criticized by rights groups, which say it condones sexual violence against women. Human Rights Watch has called its record "shameful," saying it must change the way it handles such cases.

In December 2012, a British woman reported being raped by three men in Dubai. She was found guilty of drinking alcohol without a license and fined.

In January 2010, a British woman told authorities she was raped by an employee at a Dubai hotel. She was charged with public intoxication and having sex outside of marriage.

An Australian woman reported in 2008 that she was drugged and gang-raped. She was convicted of having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, and she was sentenced to 11 months in prison.