Asian duo jailed for human trafficking

TDT | Manama

The First High Criminal Court sentenced a man and a woman to three years’ imprisonment and fined them BD2,000 each for human trafficking, after forcing two women into the flesh trade. According to the victims’ statements in court, they applied for jobs in Bahrain from their home country but once they reached here they were detained by the female defendant, who also confiscated their passports. They further told prosecutors that the female defendant informed them that they would be working as prostitutes, but when they refused, the woman, with the help of her accomplice, threatened to inform their families about their work in the vice trade and that they would be jailed here for nine years.

The victims said they agreed and the male defendant then took them to an apartment where they would have sexual intercourse with different customers for money, which the male defendant collected. They added that they were forced to do so until they escaped the apartment and reported the matter to the police. “We came here believing that we would be employed as domestic workers for a monthly salary of BD200, but when we reached Bahrain, we were shocked when she (the female defendant) confiscated our passports and informed us that we must work as prostitutes so we can pay her a big amount of money before she sets us free,” the victims said in their testimonies. Both defendants were convicted of human trafficking, restricting the victims’ freedom and depending on vice as a source of income. In addition to the fine and the prison sentence, they were both ordered to bear the expenses of the victims’ repatriation and were also blacklisted from re-entering the Kingdom after they finish serving their jail terms.