Justice was done

Dubai's top prosecutor has hailed 15-year prison sentences handed yesterday to a couple for human trafficking - the first ever convictions for the crime in the UAE. The two Indians bought their female victim for just dhs4,300 and forced her into prostitution before attempting to sell her on.

Welcoming yesterday's sentences, Attorney General Eassam Al-Humaidan, told 7DAYS: “This is one of the ugliest cases we have seen. The verdicts were fit for such an inhumane criminal act. We asked for tough penalties in this case and we will continue to take a strong stand against anyone involved in human trafficking in this country.”He added: “Everyone should take a stand against these types of crimes. These verdicts are a strong deterrent to such criminals.” The Dubai Court of First Instance passed down the prison sentences to the 25-year-old Indian driver and his accomplice, a 29-year-old Indian housemaid, after convicting them following their three-week trial. Both will be deported after serving their time.Judges were told that their 33-year-old Indonesian victim was bought from Al Ain and forced to work in Dubai as a prostitute while being regularly assaulted by the couple. The victim had suffered serious injuries during her ordeal, according to police records.The court was told that she managed to eventually escape from her captors and report her predicament to police who then arranged a trap to capture the traffickers. In a sting operation, undercover officers contacted the couple and said they would buy the woman from them for the same price as the couple had originally paid for her.Then, during a meeting in the Deira area of Dubai, police arrested the pair as they tried to negotiate the sale of their victim. A third defendant, a 27-year-old Pakistani, was cleared of human trafficking charges arising from the same case. Last November, a Federal law was passed in the UAE stating that anyone involved in human trafficking would be jailed for at least five years.Anybody found guilty of forming a gang specifically involved in human trafficking would be sentenced to life in jail. The new law also stipulated that a life sentence would be passed down on anyone trafficking children. Earlier this year another Indian couple was cleared of human trafficking charges after being accused of smuggling two children out of India and through Dubai to France. They were, however, sentenced to six months in prison for falsifying the youngsters' passports. By Ali Al-Shouk Source