‘Porta Potty party model’ found in Dubai with broken spine speaks out | World | News

Maria Kovalchuk, a wheelchair-bound Ukrainian model who was found seriously injured in Dubai after disappearing for over a week, has broken her silence.

In March, Maria was discovered on a roadside, sparking fears she had been kidnapped into “sexual slavery”. The 20-year-old suffered severe injuries, including a broken spine and limbs, and was in a coma after being found near death, having “fallen from a height.”

According to some friends’ accounts, there were concerns that Maria had fallen prey to a notorious Porta Potty party in Dubai – where wealthy men are said to pay large sums to abuse and degrade attractive young women, including those with social media profiles.

Maria, who remained silent before leaving Dubai, has now disclosed that she is recuperating from her ordeal in Norway, where her mother lives. The horrific tale of sexual exploitation and violence comes after the safe release of a 19-year-old Brit from the country’s terrifying prison, after being locked up for a “holiday romance.”

The model, who bears a prominent scar on her forehead after undergoing multiple surgeries, refuted claims that citizens of the United Arab Emirates were responsible for her torture.

Instead, she accused “rich Russian kids” of abusing her following a hotel party. She stated that her costly medical treatment was covered by the Dubai authorities.

Her mother, Anna, said: “I don’t know how much they paid – the sum was colossal, millions.”

Russian news outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti, which spoke to Maria in Norway, claimed that “in exchange, she was asked not to say anything that would cast the Emirates’ authorities in a negative light.”

Maria said: “I mostly use a wheelchair and crutches.

“I still have a leg fracture that’s healing. I’m learning to walk with crutches again, but for now, the wheelchair is my main means of moving around.”

Recounting the ordeal, Maria explained she had travelled to Dubai to create content for her modelling career when she overslept and missed her connecting flight to Thailand.

According to the report, she encountered a young man – whom she had previously met at a karaoke bar – in the foyer of the Five Jumeirah Village hotel.

The 19-year-old man in question resides with his father in Dubai. The report said: “She told him her air ticket had gone to waste and she had to check out of her hotel.

“[He] offered for her to stay in his room and claimed that his father could fly her to Thailand on a private jet.”

Maria then alleged that there was a gathering with the offspring of affluent Russian and Ukrainian businessmen.

She confessed she agreed to accompany the man and his associates – hoping it would result in a complimentary flight to Thailand, but the mood quickly deteriorated. “They started teasing me, why I wasn’t drinking,” she told prominent Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak at Ostorozhno.Media. “Then some aggressive pushes like pushing in the shoulders began. After that, they started making fun of me like ‘you belong to us, we will do whatever we want.'”.

“I tried to take it as a joke, because it was really weird. They started behaving inappropriately, smashing bottles on the floor. That is, the entire floor was strewn with broken glass, that is, it was impossible to walk there.

“Then they started intimidating me, smashing glass. After that, they took my personal belongings, which included my passport. And one of the girls….put on my things and just left in them, although before that I asked her not to do this, [and] to leave my things. That is, no one heard me, and she just left the hotel in my dress.”

This woman has now vanished without trace.

The men “hinted” they wanted sex, she claimed, adding: “I did not reciprocate, and this aggression was also heating them up.”

The account alleged that “amid the violence, Maria tried to flee “but the young men “dragged her back into the room.”

It continued: “When they stepped out onto the balcony, she escaped and hid at a nearby construction site.”

The men, who were reportedly “out of their minds” by this stage, allegedly tracked her down at the construction site and “beat her”. “They practically tore the skin off her scalp, then threw her off a ledge onto the road,” said the account.

“I ran away. Then, already on the street, when I was, I didn’t see them anymore, but I knew they were coming,” said Maria.

“I ran to the nearest building, just scared, and ran in, hid there. It was just an unfinished building, open.”

Maria doesn’t recall the actual violence that caused her injuries, and the CCTV footage has since been deleted, she said.

“Three months have passed – the police waited until the cameras were automatically wiped [after this period]. So now there’s no evidence,” said Maria.

“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 had escaped wearing only a hotel robe.

She said: “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.”

The men accused by Maria were both arrested by police in Dubai but only for one day, said the report.

It added: “They now claim in their testimonies that they tried to find and help Maria and that she had asked to come to the party herself.”

There appear to be no charges against them.

“The next day the case was closed, they were released. And the case was closed,” said Maria’s mother. “The [Dubai] police investigation indicated that Maria said that she was running away from sexual violence and then went to protect her honour, her dignity, decided to commit suicide,” she stated.

The mother alleged the statement was “falsified”, adding that Maria wasn’t attempting to end her own life and asserting she was not under the influence. Medical examinations also revealed she had no alcohol in her bloodstream, her mother added.