Two men are standing trial at the High Criminal Court for the alleged trafficking of five young women from Morocco, including two girls aged 17.
A 58-year-old Bahraini, described as a labourer and hotel ‘investor’ from A’ali and a 34-year-old Egyptian supervisor living in Hoora, reportedly tricked them into travelling to the kingdom under false pretences, only to bully them into ‘forced labour’.
The women were driven to a hotel in Manama where they were allegedly held in ‘abhorrent conditions’ against their will, denied their freedom and forced to do jobs contrary to what had been agreed upon and when they resisted, were threatened with violence.
Passports were taken from them in a bid to stop them from ‘escaping’ and travelling back home.
One of the alleged victims, a 21-year-old, described her ordeal, supported by her compatriots.
“I arrived at the airport with the intention of starting a legitimate job at a hotel in Manama as a waitress,” she said. “The Egyptian picked me up at the airport and drove me to the hotel, where he took my passport away and denied me my freedom.
“He forced me to work at a nightclub and sit with customers. When I refused, he threatened me and told me he would not give me my wages – I managed to escape the hotel somehow with the help of one of the others, and I filed a report with the police.”
As well as the teenagers, the other alleged victims are aged 26 and 20. They backed up the 21-year-old’s accusations in court.
A police investigation led to the identification and arrest of the two men. They face human trafficking charges, as well as charges relating to forced labour and illegal work.
The court heard that the Egyptian had admitted the charges to prosecutors and the Bahraini had denied all accusations.
The case has been adjourned until December 10.
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