DUBAI // Prosecutors lost their appeal against the acquittal of four men found not guilty of trafficking a woman to Dubai, but their conviction for running a brothel was upheld.
The men were accused of luring the woman to Dubai with the promise of a job and forcing her into the sex industry, but prosecutors were unable to prove it.
Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the not guilty verdict but they all must still serve one year in jail each before being deported.
Last October, Dubai Criminal Court was told the Vietnamese men beat their countrywoman, locked her up and told her she would have to work as a prostitute.
The woman told prosecutors that in June 2015 she was picked up from Dubai International Airport by one of the men and taken to a flat in International City, where she was told she would be working as a prostitute.
“When I refused, I was beaten and locked up for three days. My attempts to escape failed,” the woman said.
She told them that she would find a way to tell their embassy and police if she was not let go, to which they responded that she could leave if she paid her own air fare.
“I arranged with my family back home, who sent me a ticket and he drove me to the airport,” the woman said.
At the airport she was told that her embassy had lodged a police report after her family had contacted them. She was referred to the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children by police, who raided the flat.
“We raided the flat and found it was run as a brothel, where several women worked as prostitutes,” said an Emirati officer.
He said that the four defendants were arrested there.
During questioning, police said the men confessed to running the brothel.
The four were acquitted of human trafficking for lack of evidence but were convicted of running the brothel.
The court ordered the closure of the flat and that the men be kept under observation during their imprisonment.
salamir@thenational.ae
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Related
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
