Bahrain nightclub owner, staff jailed for trafficking
Manama, March 18, 2014
Two nightclub dancers were held captive, raped, beaten and forced to work as prostitutes in Bahrain.
The women, from Pakistan and Bangladesh, were promised jobs as dancers at an Indian nightspot in Juffair, but were used as sex slaves by senior management, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
However, they managed to alert police and three Bangladeshi men - including the nightspot owner, manager and a member of staff - were yesterday sentenced to 10 years in jail.
They were convicted of human trafficking, assault, holding the women hostage and rape by the High Criminal Court.
The owner was handed an additional six-month jail sentence for stealing the Pakistani victim's passport.
The owner and manager are both in custody and earlier pleaded not guilty, while the third defendant is still at large and was sentenced in absentia.
Judges heard the victims, aged 24 and 32, were forced to have sex with strangers for BD15 ($39) a time.
The 32-year-old Pakistani victim, who came to Bahrain with her crippled brother, said the nightspot manager's wife convinced her to take the dancer's job - after giving her brother BD908.
She said she worked as a dancer at the club for two months before she was taken to an apartment in Juffair, where she was forced to have sex with strangers for money.
The woman told prosecutors that she was repeatedly raped and beaten by the defendants, who threatened to tear up her passport if she didn't keep quiet.
However, she said she alerted police after the 24-year-old Bangladeshi victim taught her how to use a mobile phone. The defendants will be deported upon completing their sentence. - TradeArabia News Service
