Jail term sends out 'a warning signal to abusers'

Dubai: A Kuwaiti businesswoman and an Iraqi man will spend three years in jail for torturing a 21-year-old housemaid using Abu Ghraib-style prison torture tactics.

The Dubai Court of First Instance found the 36-year-old woman and her 29-year-old friend guilty of torturing, abusing and molesting the Filipina housemaid, B.S.

Presiding judge Mahmoud Al Sharshabi who pronounced the ruling in the defendants' absence said they would be deported after serving their terms. This ruling sends a "warning signal" to sponsors who abuse or torture housemaids and conveys a strong message that the UAE judicial authorities are and will always preserve the rights of housemaids, said lawyer Mohammad Al Suwaidi, of Al Suwaidi and Co Advocates and Legal Consultants.

"I am glad to hear that people abusing and torturing housemaids are being put behind bars. I think it is a severe punishment and they deserve what they got. It is more than enough to send a signal to abusers and torturers, especially when the victims are maids. I am proud of the victimised housemaid who managed to speak out loud and made her voice reach the court of justice which is the best place to preserve housemaids' rights. The problem is that some girls fail to speak," Al Suwaidi told Gulf News.

Cigarette burns

The Public Prosecution charged the suspects with molesting B.S., stuffing ice and charcoal into her private parts, beating her and stubbing out cigarettes near her private parts. The woman was also charged with detaining the victim for three days in her Dubai flat.

In her statement, B.S. said the couple wet her clothes and drenched her blanket before forcing her to sleep on the floor after setting the air-conditioner to its highest level. Several witnesses confirmed her allegations.

"One midnight the couple who were drinking forced me onto the floor and stuffed my private parts with ice and charcoal. They also stubbed out cigarettes in the same area," she added.

The accused denied the charges. The Kuwaiti claimed she kept the housemaid in her flat for three days when she was away.

"But I left the keys with someone to take care of the claimant," she said.

The Iraqi defendant also denied the Filipina's accusations. B.S. said she opened the door with a kitchen knife and escaped to the Philippine Consulate where she reported her ordeal.

A defence lawyer had earlier accused the housemaid of fabricating the allegations against her sponsors "because she was blackmailing them and seeking financial compensation."