Ajman Court acquits man of human trafficking after Supreme Court overturns conviction

Ajman: The Ajman Federal Appeal Court has acquitted an Asian man of all charges related to human trafficking, sexual exploitation, unlawful detention, and facilitating prostitution.

The ruling, issued on May 28, 2025, was delivered by Judges Hamid Ali Musbeh Al Muhairi, Sultan Khalifa Bin Bakhit Al Matroushi, and Abdul Nasser Ahmed Abdul Qader Al Munoufi.

This decision followed the Federal Supreme Court’s reversal of the original conviction, citing insufficient evidence and no direct link between the defendant and the alleged crimes.

The judges ordered his immediate release, emphasising that criminal convictions must be based on certainty, not suspicion.

The defendant’s legal troubles began when the Ajman Criminal Court sentenced him to one year in prison and deportation for his alleged involvement in the abduction and sexual exploitation of an Asian woman identified as K.K.

K.K., who was visiting the UAE on a tourist visa, testified that she was abducted while waiting for a taxi in Ras Al Khaimah. She claimed a car approached her and offered a ride to a nearby shop. Trusting the offer, she entered the vehicle but was overpowered, blindfolded, and forcibly transported to Ajman.

Over several days, she was held captive in three separate apartments, beaten, and forced into prostitution. According to her testimony, she was sold to a man of Asian nationality for Dh5,000. He demanded that she repay the amount by working as a prostitute, setting her rate at Dh50 per client — of which she received only Dh25.

K.K.’s ordeal ended when she managed to contact her sister with the help of a building security guard. The call led to a police raid and the arrest of several suspects linked to her trafficking and exploitation.

Initially, the defendant was among those convicted. But during the appeals process, significant gaps in the evidence against him were exposed. K.K. testified that she did not know the defendant and had never seen him before the trial. There was no evidence placing him at the scene of the abduction or detention, and none of the other suspects implicated him.

Police also confirmed that the accused was not present in the raided apartment and that no physical evidence tied him to the crime.

The defendant’s lawyer, Mohammed Abdullah Al Ridha, appealed the conviction. Although the Federal Appeal Court initially upheld it, the case reached the Federal Supreme Court, which found the verdict unsupported by solid reasoning. The Court stressed that criminal convictions must be based on clear, compelling evidence and that any doubt must favour the accused.

Based on these conclusions, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial, which ultimately resulted in the defendant’s acquittal.

The Ajman Federal Appeal Court’s final ruling officially cleared the accused of all charges.