A DEFENCE lawyer has called a key witness in a human trafficking case ‘a lecherous whore’ while attempting to exonerate his illiterate client who was convicted of forcing a teenager into prostitution.
The defendant, a 27-year-old Moroccan woman, appeared at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court to appeal her five-year-sentence.
Her co-defendant, a 55-year-old Syrian man who reportedly held the victim captive and forced her into the sex trade, had been sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was also present at the appeals hearing.
A Kuwaiti tourist had reported the illicit activities of the two convicted pimps after he paid for sex with a 19-year-old Syrian girl and found out about her ordeal.
According to court documents, the Kuwaiti informed the police about the Juffair hotel the victim was in, and waited until they came to rescue her. He went on to become a key witness in the case.
“Your Honours, the entire case is built on the claims of this witness – but why did he come to Bahrain? Where was he and who was he with? How much did he pay?” the Bahraini lawyer asked judges.
“How did the man – this whore who came to Bahrain to participate in debauchery and incite degenerate activities – become the case’s main witness? And, why does the verdict hinge on his testimony?”
The lawyer continued his passionate argument, asking judges to have mercy on his client because she was illiterate and did not have many choices in life.
“The appellant can neither read nor write and she was pressured to confess to the crime,” he claimed. “The court documents gave her a much bigger role than she actually played in reality.
“I didn’t represent her in the High Criminal Court trial, but I’m here to defend her now.”
He stated that if she had an education, she would not be in this position, adding that she is like any other prostitute who comes to Bahrain to offer sex for money.
The defendant briefly addressed judges and begged for mercy, tearily telling them that her father was gravely ill in hospital and needed her.
The GDN earlier reported that the 55-year-old Syrian defendant had promised the young victim a job as a hotel receptionist, but locked her up and threatened to kill her if she tried to escape.
After the Kuwaiti customer had sex with the victim, he asked to marry her and then confronted the Syrian man and asked him to let her go.
The defendants were also fined BD3,000 each and will be deported after completing their sentences.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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