Two accused deny exploiting sisters in trafficking case

Dubai: Two men have denied exploiting two Uzbek sisters and attempting to sell them to undercover policemen for Dh21,000 for sexual purposes, a court was told on Monday.

"I am not guilty and didn't commit a human trafficking crime. I don't even know the two girls whose names were mentioned in the arraignment sheet... I was forced to confess and sign declaration of guilt papers which were written in Arabic that I don't understand," said a 24-year-old Uzbek porter when he defended himself at the Dubai Court of First Instance.

When Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad relayed the charges to the court translator who read out the arraignment sheet before the porter, S.H., he defended: "I don't know the two girls& I haven't even seen them before."

His suspected associate, 32-year-old Iranian merchant R.A., also pleaded not guilty and denied the human trafficking charges.

The Public Prosecution charged the suspects, along with two other suspects who remain at large, with violating the human trafficking law. According to the arraignment sheet one of the fugitives, an Uzbek woman named Zaynab, brought the sisters N.Q. and O.Q. to work as waitresses in Dubai. Zaynab conspired with R.A. and exploited the sisters and forced them to have sex with men for money.

The arraignment sheet said the second fugitive, an Uzbek man named Chokhrat, hosted the sisters at his flat in Sharjah after they escaped. Chokhrat and S.H. also exploited the girls and forced them to work as prostitutes. Then they tried to sell the sisters to an undercover policeman.

An Emirati lieutenant testified that they received information that S.H. was trafficking women for sexual purposes.

"We arrested S.H. in a sting operation and seized the police money in his possession& an informant agreed to meet the porter and hand him the money in a restaurant in Freij Al Marar. The suspect collected Dh18,500 before his arrest.

"He confessed that he collaborated with Chokhrat in trafficking the girls. Upon questioning, the girls claimed that Zaynab and R.A. forced them into prostitution," said the lieutenant in his testimony.

An Emirati anti-human trafficking sergeant stated: "When I questioned the Iranian, he alleged that Zaynab was pimping for the sisters, meanwhile he claimed that his job was to drive them to pubs to look for clients."

The sisters alleged that Zaynab processed their visas and forced them to sleep with men for money. They also claimed that they took refuge in the flat of Chokhrat who also exploited them to work as prostitutes against their will.

The trial continues.