Woman cleared of trafficking

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A woman has been acquitted of human trafficking after the High Criminal Court quashed a three-year jail term handed down in her absence, saying the case file did not show she was responsible for paying a domestic worker’s wages or for bringing her to Bahrain.

The court said it was not satisfied the charge was properly attributed to her and found the elements of the offence were not made out. In its reasoning, it said the complaint was filed by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority against the woman’s husband as the employer responsible for paying the worker.

It also cited documents showing the husband filed a report with the police directorate stating the maid had absconded.

Statement

The judgment said the defence produced a written statement from the worker’s husband confirming he alone was responsible for all of her entitlements and monthly wages, and that the accused had no role in paying her.

He also said he recruited the worker and brought her from her country under his sponsorship, adding that his wife had no involvement and was not required to pay the worker’s wages. With nothing in the case file showing the accused was obliged to pay the worker, the court said the charge could not stand. It added that it found no indication of human trafficking on the facts, and it therefore overturned the in-absentia verdict and acquitted her under Article 255 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Her lawyer, Zahra Hussain, had earlier asked for an acquittal, saying her client denied the allegation and had no legal or factual connection to the worker. She argued the woman was not the sponsor, not the employer, and was not involved in recruiting the worker or entering into any agreement to employ her. Hussain told the court the case file contained no document linking the accused to the worker through sponsorship, an employment contract or any other legal relationship that would make her responsible for the worker’s presence in the country or for managing her affairs.