Man cleared of rape after police uncover human trafficking plot

Egyptian defendant has jail term overturned after court appeal

A man convicted of rape after a police probe into a human trafficking operation in Sharjah has been cleared at court.

The Egyptian was handed a three-year prison term last August after being found guilty of a sex attack on a maid in the emirate.

A sting operation led by Sharjah Police found that the victim was subsequently sold for sex by an Indonesian woman for Dh1,000.

The woman was jailed for life for human trafficking offences, while the Bangladeshi man who bought the victim was given a six-year prison term on charges of human trafficking, rape, physical assault, confinement and forcing the victim into prostitution.

The ages of the victim and the defendants in the case were not disclosed in court records.

The Indonesian maid had alleged that the Egyptian defendant had also forced her to have sex with him.

Court records stated that she worked as a domestic helper in Dubai before leaving her employment and being  forced into prostitution in Sharjah.

At the court of appeal, the Egyptian man's rape conviction was overturned.

The Bangladeshi defendant had his sentence reduced to four years following an appeal.

The Indonesian woman fronting the human trafficking plot also appealed against her life term, but the sentence was upheld.