Recruitment agency owner, employee arrested 'for human trafficking'

AMMAN — The Criminal Investigation Department’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit on Wednesday concluded its investigation into the case of the three Bangladeshi domestic workers who allegedly jumped from the second storey of a recruitment office last Thursday.

The case was referred to the specialised prosecutor general after the owner of the recruitment office and an employee were arrested on charges of human trafficking, illegal detention and making threats, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The three domestic workers said the agency owner abused them and locked them up in the bathroom, so they tried to escape by jumping from the window and were injured in the attempt. 

The workers were taken to Al Bashir Hospital for treatment. One of them was scheduled to be discharged on Wednesday and will be under the protection of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit until the case is closed. 

Another worker broke her leg and one broke her back in the attempt to escape, and are receiving treatment at the expense of the unit under the assumption that they are human trafficking victims.

Tamkeen Fields for Aid on Tuesday strongly denounced the incident, saying that the abuse the workers were subjected to prompted them to escape in a way that threatened their lives.

“A team from Tamkeen has visited the workers at the hospital, and two of them said they were abused by their employers and were returned to the recruitment office upon their request, while the other one was taken by her employer to the office,” according to a Tamkeen statement received at the time by The Jordan Times. 

The centre claimed that the workers were beaten by the office owner and were then locked up inside the bathroom while being deprived of food and water.

“A number of employees had given them food leftovers without the knowledge of the owner, who gave them the option to throw themselves from the window or be killed,” said Tamkeen.

The centre said there are hundreds of similar cases of abuse against domestic helpers in Jordan, a fact that constitutes a “flagrant” violation of international conventions the country is signatory to.

“We call on the concerned authorities to intensify their efforts to protect guest workers and hold abusers liable, while amending legislation governing workers’ well-being,” said Tamkeen.