Woman gets jail for forcing two into prostitution

Manama : A 27-year-old Russian woman accused of forcing two fellow countrywomen into prostitution in Bahrain has been slapped with five years in prison. The defendant reportedly lured her victims, aged 24 and 30, to come to Bahrain by presenting to them fake employment offers to work as waitresses. But they later were forced to sleep with strangers in return of money, court reports read. 

The duo, aged 24 and 30, told prosecutors that they were working as waitress in a Russia bar, where they met a Russian woman, who offered them jobs in Bahrain. 

“When we arrived here, she (the defendant), took us to an apartment and requested to have sex with customers. We refused and insisted on flying back to our country. But she refused to provide us with fly tickets. She locked up us in an apartment and demanded to pay BD750,” one of the victims told prosecutors. 

The women had been saved after police received a tip-off from the Russian Embassy in Bahrain stating that they were imprisoned in an apartment in Gudaibiya. The defendant was arrested inside the same apartment by vice squads.  

“I was ordered to go and receive them at the airport by a Russian woman. I didn’t force them into prostitution,” the defendant told prosecutors. 

Having refused to reveal the name of the Russian woman, who gave her the order, the defendant has been charged with living completely on prostitution, human trafficking and living illegally in the country.