DUBAI // Two Moroccan women who lured three compatriots to the UAE with the promise of good jobs before forcing them to work as prostitutes have been jailed for three years each.
The women, aged 39 and 22, beat the three and locked them in a flat, Dubai Criminal Court was told.
One of the victims said she arrived in Dubai in September after paying the women Dh5,000 for a job at a sports club. When she arrived she was locked in a flat in Al Muraqqabat with two other Moroccan women.
“One of the defendants assaulted me with a shisha pipe and the other banned me from stepping out of the flat,” she said. She was forced to have sex with a Saudi Arabian man before being taken to a hotel to meet another client, she said. She managed to escape and went to a police station.
Officers raided the flat, arrested the defendants and rescued the two other women.
One of the victims said she was offered a job at a beauty salon and paid more than Dh3,400 to the defendants but was beaten, threatened and locked up when she arrived in the country.
She was forced to sleep with men, mostly Saudis, Bahrainis and Indians, who paid Dh1,500 each.
The third woman said she came to Dubai two months before the defendants were arrested and had also paid them money in exchange for a job in Dubai.
“The morning after my arrival to join a beauty salon the defendants had me wear make-up and took my picture. Then they took my passport and told me I will be a prostitute. I refused, so they assaulted me.”
The 27-year-old said she was forced to have sex with more than 30 men before police raided the flat.
The defendants confessed to working as prostitutes themselves and forcing the three victims to do the same.
They denied charges of human trafficking, assaulting and imprisoning the women when they appeared in court last April. But both were convicted and will be deported after serving their jail terms.
salamir@thenational.ae
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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Install an air filter in your home.
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The five pillars of Islam
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets