Parents protest as kids' photos used to promote flesh trade in Bahrain

Staff Reporter

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The vice ring continues to use all social media platforms to promote flesh trade in Bahrain with its new tool being kids’ pictures that are posted on many popular Facebook pages. Many parents took to social media to alert the authorities about using children’s pictures to boost vice trade.

“Why are the authorities not taking action against these people? They are using pictures of children to boost their trade and this should not be allowed,” posted Riyaz Ahmed. Speaking to The Daily Tribune, a Bahrain resident, who is a mother of three (doesn’t want to be named in the report), said she is really worried about her children’s pictures being used by members of the prostitution ring.

“We regularly post the pictures of our children on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms as we have relatives and friends across the world. What if those pictures are downloaded and used for these kinds of vice purposes?” she asked.

The pictures are mainly posted on popular social media groups in Bahrain. An IT expert told The Daily Tribune that admins of all these social media groups must be held accountable for these postings as it is their duty to scrutinise the content and picture postings across these platforms.

The Daily Tribune earlier reported about all social media platforms being allegedly misused by the vice network to boost flesh trade in Bahrain. The report quoted a citizen as saying: “All social media platforms are filled with links posted by members of the vice network, which is very well established.

They post vulgar and indecent pictures of women with an aim to attract ‘potential customers’. “During the pandemic, the vice network also started going online like other sectors. It is high time the authorities put a brake on these activities or else it will affect the image of our great nation.”

Another citizen said he received a WhatsApp call from a foreign number that he hadn’t seen before. “It was a woman on the other side. She asked me to turn the video call on. I did so and all I could see was a nude woman on the other side, asking me to come to an apartment in Juffair. I abruptly disconnected the call.

“There has to be tough action to curb such activities on social media or else it could adversely affect the future of our young generation,” he lamented. The Interior Ministry has intensified its efforts against vice trade and its associated crime human trafficking. The Daily Tribune recently published a report in which Global Organised Crime Index highlights Bahrain’s success against human trafficking.