A young expatriate woman has gone on trial accused of human trafficking, forcing women into prostitution and financially exploiting them.
The 23-year-old Russian national has been charged by the High Criminal Court with operating a sex-trafficking ring that targeted women from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, luring them to Bahrain with false job offers before trapping them in debt bondage and forcing them into prostitution.
According to court documents, the case came to light after two victims – a 21-year-old Kazakhstani national and a 22-year-old Russian national – were rescued by police after allegedly being held captive by the defendant.
Both women arrived in Bahrain in June this year after responding to an online recruitment advertisement.
In her testimony, the first victim said that she was in urgent financial need when she saw an advertisement on Instagram offering work in Bahrain. She contacted two women via Telegram, who offered to cover her travel and accommodation expenses.
However, upon arriving at the airport, she was met by the defendant, who allegedly forcibly confiscated her passport and took her to a hotel. She then changed the agreed terms, demanding full repayment of the recruitment costs, the court heard.
“She threatened to evict me and leave me homeless if I refused to work or expressed a desire to return to my country,” the victim testified, adding that she was forced into prostitution and required to ‘hand over all earnings after each session’.
She was later moved to another hotel in Juffair, where she secretly contacted her family for help and refused to continue working until law enforcement officers arrived.
The second woman told the court that she was held alongside the first victim under similar conditions.
A police investigator testified that the defendant operated under the direction of an individual based abroad.
“The defendant receives newly arrived girls at the airport, transfers them to furnished apartments used for prostitution, arranges their encounters with clients, and shares the financial proceeds,” the officer testified.
Investigations also revealed that the victims were ‘deliberately trapped through fabricated debts’.
According to court documents, women who resisted were allegedly subjected to physical assaults, threats involving claimed influence and forced deportation.
They were also falsely warned that any attempt to escape would result ‘in arrest or a ban from the country’, compelling them to remain under the traffickers’ control.
The court adjourned the trial to August 16 for defence arguments.
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