Two jailed for forcing women into prostitution
An Arab man was handed down 10 years in jail and his brother received five years behind bars for trafficking six women from Columbia and Dominica.
The six victims were reportedly held captive by the two defendants, aged 36 and 41, in furnished apartments, where they forced them to have sex with strangers in return of money.
Their crime came to light after one of the victims escaped from their captivity and informed the police.
Later, the police conducted a raid and released the other victims and arrested the defendants in the process, according to court files.
The victims, aged between 19 and 26, are said to have been compelled to have sex with strangers for amounts ranging between BD30 and BD50 apiece.
“I came to Bahrain after the man (the accused) lured me with a fake employment. When I landed here I was
taken to a hotel where I was held captive and was forced into commercial sex acts,” the victim, who was a Dominican national said in her statement.
“I was in the same place with three other Colombian women, who were also forcefully dragged into prostitution. We hadn’t received a penny, and the only thing given to us by him was food. When we refused to indulge in sexual activities, he would abuse and beat us up,” she added.
The defendants were charged with forcing the women into prostitution as well as depending partially on what the four women earned from prostitution.
The defendants’ lawyer Mahmood Rabea had earlier argued that the investigations into the case were insufficient and the officer who carried them out weren’t aware of many issues linked to the case. He said that the Bahrain Central Bank had also presented a report that showed that the defendants weren’t in possession of a lot of money or properties.
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