DUBAI // A Russian woman intending to work as a missionary in the Emirates was forced into prostitution to repay the money she had been sold for, a court heard yesterday.
M B told prosecutors that she was unaware that another Russian woman had sold her for US$15,000 (Dh56,200) to a woman from Kyrgyzstan who intended to prostitute her in Dubai.
When MB arrived in Dubai last July, she said she was taken to the home of the Kyrgyzstani woman, S B, 47, and locked up.
The victim said she was told that her passport would not be returned and that she had to repay her purchase price before she was allowed to leave.
In a hearing yesterday at the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance, S B was charged with human trafficking and illegal confinement, as was her female compatriot, L S, 42; and M A, 43, a male clerk from Egypt.
The alleged victim was rescued by A S, 24, a businesswoman from Dagestan who told prosecutors that she was informed of the missionary's plight and was asked to help. She took M B to Dubai Police to file a complaint.
The three defendants denied the charges. The Kyrgyzstani woman said the victim was her cousin. Police said they recovered ledger books from her indicating payments for prostitution. The court adjourned the case until June 8.
amustafa@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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More from Armen Sarkissian
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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