The Khaleej Times reported today - Opens in new tab about a horrible case of human trafficking and child exploitation in the UAE. An Iraqi couple was charged with human trafficking and running a prostitution ring after the police found in their apartment in Sharjah two women and one girl who were engaged in prostitution. The man later confessed to his crimes.
The girl, only 13, was brought from her Iraqi parents in Syria to the UAE with a fake passport, and forced to work as a prostitute. When the girl refused to have sex with the clientele, her hustlers beat her and threatened her with a teaser gun. A day prior to the arrest of the Iraqi couple, the girl was brutally raped by one of the clients. The girl reported that her parents received money when they handed her over to one of the Iraqis. According to the girl, her parents later received additional sums of money from the couple. The two other women found in the apartment, also from Iraq, entered the UAE as wives of their hustler. They said that they were forced into prostituting by threats of beatings.