Four charged with human trafficking

Four Arabs are referred to the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance on charges related to a teenage girl.

DUBAI// Four Arabs, two men and two women, have been accused with buying a teenage girl from her mother and forcing the minor to have sexual relations. Three have been referred by prosecutors to the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance charged with human trafficking and a fourth faces a charge of failing to report a crime. The Dubai advocate general, Khalifa bin Deemas, said three of the defendants, two men and a woman, purchased the victim, R A, 13, from her mother in another Arab country and brought her to the UAE on a forged passport claiming she was their daughter. "They took advantage of the girl's weakness, beat her and threatened her and forced her to dance and practice prostitution for money," Mr bin Deemas said in a statement issued today by the Dubai Public Prosecution Department. He said the three are currently in custody and awaiting trial, adding that a fourth defendant in the case, a woman, had been charged with failing to report a crime. "Dubai lawyer general, Issam Humaidan, has instructed that all assistance should be given to victims of human trafficking, that all such case must be referred to the technical office that will take the necessary steps to combat such crimes," Mr bin Deemas, who heads the technical office, said in a statement. "This unusual crime is the furthest from decent human, religious and cultural values... the public prosecution has asked the court to impose the harshest penalty under law on the defendants in this case," Mr bin Deemas said, adding that the victim has been referred to the Dubai Women and Children Foundation. The foundation, set up in July 2007, aims to provide a refuge for women and children afflicted by poverty, abuse, and difficult or life threatening situations. The foundation will offer the victim medical and psychological care, Mr bin Deemas said Mr bin Deemas said the three defendants were arrested on Jan 20 this year at Sharjah International Airport with the assistance of Sharjah Police. The defendants allegedly planned to leave the country and take their young victim to a neighbouring Gulf country. It was discovered that the defendants had forged passports and that there was no legitimate relationship or blood ties between them and the victim. The victim herself told police that she was forced by the defendants to practice prostitution and that the defendants would collect between Dh2,000 and Dh3,000 each night from her work. [e-mail]