This Tuesday, Bahrain’s First High Criminal Court issued a ruling to punish 3 people accused of detaining a woman for exploiting her in acts of prostitution.
The ruling sentenced the first defendant to five years in prison and fined her two thousand dinars.
The other two women were given a sentence of three years in prison, a fine of 2,000 dinars as well as deporting from the country after spending their time jail.
Recently, the Bahraini authorities received a report from the International Criminal Police (Interpol) about the presence of a detained girl in an apartment.
After the police’s arrival to the scene, one of the accused was seen detaining the victim for the purpose of trafficking and exploiting her in acts of prostitution.
The Bahraini authorities conducted an investigation and learned of a network of human traffickers, whose members were arrested on criminal charges as a result.
The network’s approach towards these women is to receive transport, and house them for the purpose of abusing them into prostitution. This is all by means of coercion, threat and deception, as well as forcing them to pay huge sums of money in exchange for giving them back their national passports.
The Bahraini Chief Prosecutor indicated that the Public Prosecution Office began the investigation as soon as it was informed of the incident. In addition, the victim’s statement was heard and deposited in the shelter center of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons.
Defendants involved were interrogated and put in custody pending investigation.
Parents’ Obsession and Social Stigma
Recently, Bahraini authorities seized a number of prostitution networks in Bahrain, providing prostitution services disguised as message spas, specially in the areas of Juffair, Adliya, and Al Maared Street.
Families of the defendants accused the Bahraini State of trying to corrupt the youth by engaging them into prostitution, given that the Sitra area has been a reservoir for the revolution against the regime.
At a time the Bahraini regime is mobilizing its security to monitor activists, journalists and opposing voices, networks of prostitution and sexual extortion are comfortably operating in the country.
While the Khilafia regime suffers a stifling financial crisis, it works to develop prostitution in the country in order to generate profit and income.
The Bahraini State relied on selling alcohol and prostitution as a means to increase the annual state budget, revealed Mahmoud Albahrani, the People’s Assembly Representative.
“Illegal funds enter the state budget as a result of flexible work licenses when it comes to alcohol and prostitution,” he added during a parliamentary statement.
