Traffickers faked marriage papers, court told

An Iraqi couple forged marriage certificates for women from their home country to bring them into Dubai to work as prostitutes, a court hears.

DUBAI // An Iraqi couple forged marriage certificates for women from their home country to bring them into Dubai to work as prostitutes, a court heard yesterday. Prosecutors told the Court of First Instance that IA, 45, and his wife, SM, 36, forged official stamps belonging to the immigration departments of Dubai ports and Dubai International Airport and to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sharjah for use on the fake marriage papers.

IA and SM have denied the accusations. Four other women were charged with prostitution and facilitating the act. Two of them, NR, 24 and MA, 22, appeared in court yesterday and also denied the charges. One of the defendants not present at court was only 18. According to prosecution records, she confessed to investigators that she had been brought from her home in Baghdad to the Emirates posing as a wife and worked as a prostitute.

An investigator from the Dubai Immigration Department said he received a tip about the alleged human trafficking and obtained a search warrant from the Sharjah Public Prosecutor's office. Investigators recovered a number of certificates, forgery materials and stamps as well as images of forged certificates from the defendant's computer. According to prosecution records, IA and SM were also in possession of a forged French passport.

The women were released on bail while IA was remanded in custody. The hearing was adjourned until October 15. [e-mail]