Parents who forced daughter into prostitution are not human traffickers: defence lawyer

The defence lawyers of the Pakistani couple who allegedly forced their 15-year-old daughter into prostitution after giving her to a man who violated her virginity against Dh16,000, told the court that his clients are not human traffickers.

Lawyer Ibrahim Khouri refuted before the jury, presided by Judge Izzat Abdulillah Mansour, any intention of the parents to sell their daughter.

"My clients should not have been accused of human trafficking, taking into consideration the daughter's testimony. The girl assured that she was asked to spend a few hours with the sex customer – a police informer – after which her parents were supposed to pick her up.

“Your honour, records mention that police received information about parents trying to sell their daughter, whereas the parents were arrested after keeping their daughter with a compatriot for just a couple of hours. This was clear evidence that elements of human trafficking crime were not fulfilled. The girl was not sold to any party. It is more like prostitution rather than human trafficking,” defended the lawyer.

The lawyer also said the case is vindictive in nature, taking into consideration that the police informer was a compatriot of the accused and that he and the other witnesses did not state first-hand information but rather reported information given by a third party.

“In addition to that, some information in the testimonies were contradictory and not corroborative,” said the lawyer.

“The victim testified that her parents gave her to a man to violate her virginity against Dh16,000 while a policeman said in his testimony that she told him she is a virgin. Also, forensic reported that the victim is a virgin. This refutes that she was forced into sex,” Khouri defended.

Khouri also told the jury that the mother is not a prostitute and the confession she made before the Prosecution was out of fear.

The court will give its sentence on June 26.

According to the records, the father KA, 38, and mother SK, 35, were accused of human trafficking. The victim’s mother is also accused of practicing prostitution with the help of her husband.

The victim AK, student, arrived in the UAE with her parents on a tourist visa in August 2013. A month later, her parents accompanied her to a hotel where her father asked her to offer sex to a Pakistani after taking Dh10,000 from him.

“My parents asked me to spend the night with the man in his hotel room. My father said he will come and pick me up next day morning. My parents asked the man not to hurt me since I was young. After they left, police raided the room and arrested me,” the girl told investigators.

She also told the police that, ten days after arriving in the UAE, her father had handed her over to a man who violated her virginity in return for Dh16,000. She also admitted that her mother worked in prostitution of her own will.

Police was tipped off about a father who was willing to sell his 14-year-old daughter for Dh10,000. Police arranged a trap and handed over the money to an informer who acted as the buyer. Police raided the room after the money was handed over, officer OM testified.

The victim’s father, KA, 38, admitted asking his daughter and his wife to offer sex to customers as he was financially incapable of providing for them. His wife admitted to willingly practicing prostitution for Dh200 and Dh300 per customer that her husband used to bring to her.

Police confiscated Dh3,900 from the family’s house. The police also arrested AH, 40, unemployed, and MS, 19, salesman, who were facilitating customers and helping the family to run a vice den.

MS created two websites where he placed pictures of girls so that customers could call him. He admitted taking Dh1,200 to Dh2,000 monthly against providing this service to AH.

MA, 36, had sex with the victim without knowing that she was forced into it.

Police also arrested five Pakistani girls who were working willingly in prostitution.