GOLF NEWS

Trafficking victims in UAE to be repatriated

Justice Abdul Bashir confirmed with the prosecution that it had no further need for the victims' eyewitness reports and statements, and then ruled that the women should be sent home.

·         By Samihah Zaman, Staff Reporter

·         Published: 00:00 July 28, 2010

·  Abu Dhabi: A total of 18 victims who were allegedly tricked into prostitution by a human trafficking ring in the capital are to be sent back to their home country, a court has ruled.

Chief Justice Saeed Abdul Bashir, head of the criminal court at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, told Gulf News that the victims — all from Thailand — had been housed in a government shelter while waiting for the case to be resolved,

A senior social worker from the shelter, Ewa'a Shelters for Women and Children, approached the court to ask that the women be allowed to return to their homeland as soon as possible. Justice Abdul Bashir confirmed with the prosecution that it had no further need for the victims' eyewitness reports and statements, and then ruled that the women should be sent home.

Maitha Al Mazroui, co-ordination and follow-up officer at the Ewa'a Shelters, said the women would be given financial support to travel, plus contact details for shelters in their home country if they needed further rehabilitation.

Maitha said: "We have provided them with everything they need to feel secure, including psychological, social and medical assistance. We will continue to assist them so that they know whom to approach once they have left the UAE."

Suspects

Regarding the alleged human trafficking ring, Justice Abdul Bashir confirmed that there were 10 suspects, both male and female, on trial.

He said the prosecution had alleged that: "The traffickers lured the Thai victims into the country with offers to work as masseuses. They provided the victims with tickets, visas and other paperwork to enter the country, then collected them from the airport and forced them into prostitution".

He said the victims had been beaten and stripped to force them into submission. They had also allegedly been guarded by the traffickers to prevent them from escaping.

Justice Abdul Bashir said some of those charged had already allegedly confessed to the charges, but they would receive no leniency for any confession.

"Tricking women in such a manner is absolutely unacceptable. The prosecution will thoroughly investigate the case, but the accused should expect no leniency when the verdict is passed. Although life imprisonment may not be given in such a case, some of the suspects may be imprisoned for life due to their role in the ring," he said.

At the hearing, one of the defendants, H.L., submitted a statement claiming she was not guilty of the charges. A relative who was present said the defendant in question had only been visiting an acquaintance living in the same apartment when members of the alleged ring were arrested