FOUR people are in the dock for allegedly running a human trafficking ring in Bahrain.
Three Moroccans – two women, aged 42 and 35, and a man, 35 – have been charged by the High Criminal Court with forcing the victims into vice trade through threats and trickery.
The trio and another 28-year-old woman have also been accused of depending solely on money gathered from the victims for their livelihood.
The vice ring was exposed after a video of one of the victims describing her ordeal went viral on social media.
An investigation was launched by the Anti-Human Trafficking Police which led to the identification of the 35-year-old Moroccan man and his co-defendants.
According to court documents, the 35-year-old man threatened the victims that they will be forced to pay BD4,000 to BD8,000 unless they took up prostitution.
One of the victims, aged 21, told prosecutors that she came from an under-privileged family in Morocco and wanted to earn some quick money.
“I contacted the 35-year-old, who is my friend’s mother, because I knew she was a pimp in Bahrain and I wanted to work as a prostitute,” she said in her statement to the Public Prosecution.
“In 2019, she sent me the residence permit and a ticket and I arrived in Dubai where I was received by a Syrian national. I stayed in Dubai for three months and the 35-year-old sent me money for my daily expenses.”
The victim said that upon arrival in Bahrain she was received by the 35-year-old woman who took her to a hotel, where she was asked to have sex with men for money.
“I lived in a hotel for two weeks where I would meet up with clients. I was paid BD50 for half an hour, BD100 for an hour and BD500 for an entire night.
“The deal was that I would take half the earnings and give the rest to the 35-year-old woman, while the male defendant would drop me off at various hotels to meet clients.”
The victim said she was then moved to another hotel in Juffair where she stayed for five months.
She said she catered to at least 10 clients every day and the money gathered had to be given to the 35-year-old.
“We were told to make BD1,000 weekly and also threatened with violence and bodily harm,” the victim said.
“I was only allowed to send BD200 to my family in Morocco, no matter how much money I made every week and I was always threatened with harm for any shortcomings.”
She also told prosecutors that she was “forced to sign a document stating that she owed the 35-year-old BD6,000”.
The trial has been adjourned until September 20 for review and to appoint lawyers for the defendants and review the case.
&uuid=(email))