They told court that they just helped the women to stay in their apartment because they didn't have anywhere to live.
Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi authorities arrested the group after investigations suggested that they were involved in prostitution activities
Published: Thu 11 May 2017, 7:17 PM
Last updated: Thu 11 May 2017, 9:25 PM
Seven domestic workers have been accused of engaging in prostitution after running away from their employers.
Four men who allegedly encouraged the women into running away from their sponsors were also charged in the case.
Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance heard that the women including Bangladeshis and Indonesians ran away from their employers and went to live in apartments rented by the Bangladesh men.
The women, including housemaids and nannies, then started working in prostitution.
Official court records stated that the Bangladeshi men reportedly looked for men who had sex with these women after paying them money. The women could sometimes find men on the streets of the capital and took them to their homes for paid sex.
Abu Dhabi authorities arrested the group after investigations suggested that they were involved in prostitution activities.
Prosecutors charged the women with absconding from the employers and practising prostitution.
The Bangladeshi men were charged with running the brothel.
The women admitted to running away from their employers claiming that they were being mistreated but denied the charges of involving in prostitution activities.
The men also denied any involving in the prostitution activities. They told court that they just helped some of the women to stay in their apartment after telling them that they didn't have anywhere to live.
The men said they had no idea the women had run away from their employers.
Two of the women told court that they were forced into the prostitution activities by the men when they offered them shelter after running away from their employers. The trial was adjourned until May 17.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com