DUBAI (AFP)
Two Indian nationals were jailed for 15 years in the United Arab Emirates for human trafficking, the first convictions under legislation aimed at cleaning up the Gulf state's human rights record, Gulf News reported Wednesday.
A court in the emirate of Dubai, one of seven that makes up the UAE, imposed the sentence on an Indian housemaid and driver for forcing an Indonesian woman into prostitution, the English-language daily reported.
The UAE introduced stiff new penalties last year reaching life sentences to combat human trafficking in the region.
Saudi Arabia remains on a U.S. blacklist of countries trafficking in people that was released last month.
Other states in the region, such as Bahrain and Kuwait, were added to the list and were largely accused of mistreating foreign workers, which they heavily rely on.
