The victims were sexually assaulted and forcibly exploited for services without pay.
In a judgment considered a triumph for justice, The Criminal Court of the Court of First Instance has sentenced two people accused of human trafficking in Qatar to 10 years in jail and fined them QR 200,000 each.
The defendants, who hold pakistani citizenship, were also ordered to compensate each of their victims an amount of one million Qatari Riyals. The two will serve their sentence in a Qatari jail, after which, the court ordered, they should be deported immediately.
The court found that the culprits had forcibly exploited and enslaved two domestic workers, forcing them to work tirelessly without pay, as well as sexually assaulting them, all the while detaining them in a residence in Qatar.
The prosecution charged the culprits with violating Law No. 15 of 2011, a legislation aimed at combating human trafficking.
An investigation was launched after the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking received last year a report which said some persons were committing acts related to human trafficking by exploiting employees and exposing them to various forms of torture and ill-treatment.
Authorities have since provided the victims with emergency healthcare and transferred them to accommodations in the Protection and Social Rehabilitation Centre (AMAN) to recover.
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After collecting evidence, including a forensic report and statements from witnesses and the victims, the National Committee for Combatting Human Trafficking appointed a lawyer for the victims. The case then proceeded in the Qatari courts.
The committee praised the ruling of the court, saying that such a ruling ensured that justice was served.
Yousuf Fakhroo, Minister of labour and the Chairman of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, also praised the court’s decision, saying that he hopes that it will act as a deterrent to human traffickers who believe that they can evade the country’s law.
The minister also emphasized that all measures have been taken to provide the necessary care and protection to the victims before, during and after the investigation.
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