DUBAI // A woman who was forced into prostitution after being lured to the country with the false promise of a decent job was today sentenced to a year in jail.
EK, a 29-year-old tailor from Uzbekistan, and her compatriot ET, 20, were both found guilty of prostitution by the Dubai Criminal Court and will be deported following their sentences.
The court found AD, the 48-year-old Uzbek who lured EK to the country, guilty of human trafficking charges and sentenced her to three years in prison to be followed by deportation. However, it cleared her compatriot, NS, 50, of aiding and abetting the trafficking.
The tailor came to Dubai after speaking with a woman in her home country who promised her a job with a monthly salary of more than US$1,000. When she arrived in December 2011 she met AD and was taken to an apartment where AD took her passport and provided her with a new, false passport under a different name.
A few days later she was taken to another apartment near Abu Hail shopping centre and told she would have to work as a prostitute for at least seven months to repay the cost of her plane ticket.
A number of prostitutes were in the apartment, including ET and DR. EK was forced to have sex with 15 to 20 men each day until January 17, when she ran away with DR, after tying some bedsheets together and climbing from the building's window. They headed to their consulate which then alerted authorities. DR also testified that she was lured to the country after being promised a job and was forced to have sex with up to 30 men a day. DR was not charged with prostitution.
salamir@thenational.ae
