Forcing women into prostitution: Appeals court confirms jail term

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Two men, who challenged a five-year jail term awarded to them in a human trafficking case, had their prison terms upheld by the High Appeals Court. The men were found guilty of trafficking two girls, Asian nationals, and forcing them into prostitution before luring them with fake job offers. The court also ordered their deportation after completing jail terms. Court files say the victims reached Bahrain with the help of an accomplice of the defendants, another woman from their hometown.

Police said she orchestrated the entire episode with the help of the defendants in Bahrain. “She completed all the paperwork for processing the visas and offered the victims to work as waitresses in the Kingdom.”

Trusting the woman blindly, the victims accepted the offer, dreaming about settling into a good life here in Bahrain. However, things that appeared rosy at first did not take long to flip to the dark side. Police told the court that soon after landing in Bahrain, the woman confiscated their passports, took them to an apartment and locked them up.

However, the real horror began when the woman came up with customers for the victims. The victims were startled by the prospect of their violent future of working as a prostitute instead of waitresses. Police said the victims tried to resist the defendant and had also demanded to return to their home countries.

However, their protests remained short-lived when the woman threatened to spoil their lives by exposing them as prostitutes to their families back home. Their ordeal continued until they got an opportunity to call the police. The second accused, an Asian man, was responsible for delivering them to clients’ apartments. The Public Prosecution charged the defendants with human trafficking, forcing the victims into prostitution, and establishing and running a brothel.