Dubai: Two jobless men have been accused of luring a woman visitor to their car, stealing her purse that contained her passport and then demanding she pay Dh5,000 to return it.

The Russian men, 30-year-old T.M. and 34-year-old A.W., were said to have tricked the Ukrainian woman into their vehicle after claiming that they wanted to drive her to her residence in January.

The duo then drove her to Ajman and they assaulted her on the way and took away her purse that contained the travel document, cash and other valuables and dropped her off there.

The woman claimed to interrogators that the men asked her communicate with them via email and demanded she pay Dh5,000 if she wanted her passport back.

Prosecutors accused the Russian suspects of kidnap with deception, assault and theft.

The duo pleaded not guilty and dismissed the accusation of kidnap when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the duo kidnapped the Ukrainian woman and stole her passport, Dh400 and mobile phone after they twisted her neck and beat her brutally.

“We did not kidnap her. She owed me money and when I asked her to pay me back, she refused. Then I took her purse to take my money … the passport was in the purse,” T.M. told presiding judge Shaikha Hamad.

The visitor testified to prosecutors that the incident happened shortly after she had visited a pharmacy and was returning to her residence in Al Mankhool at 2.30am.

“T.M. stopped me on the street and asked me if I spoke Russian … I said yes. Then he claimed that he was a visitor and was looking for a garment store to buy some clothes to his wife. I directed him to a number of shopping centres. When he asked me where I stayed, I told him that I stayed 10 minutes away from Al Mankhool area. I trusted him because he spoke Russian and accepted his offer to drop me to my residence. A.W. drove the car and once we reached Al Rifa’a, I told him to turn left … but he did not. T.M. slapped me hard and twisted my neck … he kept my head down below the seat and took away my purse. They drove for around 30 minutes and then they stopped at the side of a road in the middle of a place that I did not know. He gave me a paper on which an email address was written … he told me to communicate with them and demanded I pay Dh5,000 to get back my passport. I threw away the paper … T.M. beat me and handed me another paper. Then they dropped me off and asked me to walk 500 metres to a petrol station and take a taxi,” the woman claimed.

A police lieutenant testified to prosecutors that the Ukrainian woman cooperated with the police and communicated via email with the suspects, who were apprehended in a sting operation.

Prosecution records said police raided the suspects’ flat and found a number of passports of other women.

The trial continues.