Dubai: An unemployed man faces eight years in jail after a court on Thursday found him guilty of raping a Bangladeshi housemaid, who was a victim of human trafficking.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the 32-year-old Bangladeshi man to three years in jail for raping the 22-year-old woman.
Pronouncing the judgment, Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad also sentenced 32-year-old S.A. to five years in jail for sexually exploiting the woman, D.Y.
His compatriots, 28-year-old M.L. and 21-year-old M.S., and a 35-year-old Indian, J.R., were each sentenced to five years in jail after the court convicted them of trafficking D.Y. along with S.A.
Prosecutors accused the four men of violating the human trafficking law by sexually exploiting D.Y.'s financial situation and forcing her into the sex trade.
S.A. was solely charged with raping D.Y. after threatening to tie her to a chair.
"The convicts will be deported after the completion of their punishments," added Presiding Judge Abdul Jawad in courtroom four. S.A. had pleaded not guilty and said in court: "I was a customer and went to that place to have sex… I didn't rape her. We had consensual sex. I strongly deny the rape and human trafficking charges."
"I am innocent… I didn't exploit her neediness. I was the one who processed a visa for D.Y. and brought her to Dubai," said M.L. when he defended himself.
M.S. and J.R. also pleaded not guilty.
Raid
"Since the minute I arrived at the airport, M.L. took my passport and drove me to a house where I was told that I was not allowed to go out. They threatened me that if I left the house, the police would arrest me.
"I refused to work in prostitution and asked M.L. to send me back to my country. Later I was forced to have sex with men for money under duress. When the defendants were moving us to another house, I pushed away the man who was watching me and ran to the nearest shop and called for help," stated the woman in her testimony.
Prosecution records said D.Y. directed a police patrol to the house where she was being forced to work as prostitute.
D.Y. claimed to interrogators that S.A. raped her shortly after a customer went out of her room.
An Emirati first corporal from Dubai police's anti-human trafficking department testified the woman called them from a shop and reported she had been forced in to the sex trade. Police raided the house in Al Rifa'a and arrested the suspects.
