BAHRAIN — FIFTY-SIX women suspected of working as prostitutes have been arrested in two hotel raids. Most of the women are housemaids trying to earn extra cash, Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) acting director general Brigadier Tariq bin Daina said. The women are of different nationalities and many are in the country illegally, he added.

“After investigation, the police concluded that most of the arrested women work as housemaids,” said Brig bin Daina, who is also acting director general of Crime Detection and Forensic Science.

“Many are illegal with expired visas and some are runaways.

“We will now investigate who is behind the racket and those who assist in the illegal activity.”

The GULF DAILY NEWS (GDN) has confirmed that one of the hotels raided was the Concorde International Hotel in Gudaibiya.

Forty-two women were arrested in that hotel alone on Friday night.

A spokesman for Future Hotel Management, which runs the hotel, confirmed that Labour Ministry and Interior Ministry officials raided its premises.

However, he denied there was prostitution taking place inside the hotel.

“Six Ethiopian waitresses who work at our coffee bar were taken into custody, despite their legal status and all papers being in order,” he said.

“These women, who are new to Bahrain, were scared when they saw the police and tried to run.

“We can’t blame them for it.

“They were caught and the officials told us that even though they have proper papers they will have to be taken.

“We were told that the women will be released in a couple of days.”

The hotel has sublet most of its services and claimed it was not responsible for activities inside outlets managed by other companies.

“We have sublet all of the hotel’s outlets except room-service and a coffee bar,” said the spokesman.

“So we are not aware and don’t have any control over what happens in the other outlets.”

He also said an Indian woman who was visiting the hotel with her husband was also arrested during the raid, despite protests by a hotel official.

“There is no logic to this raid,” claimed the spokesman.

“Not every woman who enters a hotel is a prostitute.

“The police also took with them a female guest who was at the coffee bar with her husband.

“When the hotel’s public relations officer objected to this and explained the woman was not even a staff member, but a customer, the police said that she will have to be taken anyway for being there.

“The helpless husband could do nothing but watch his wife being taken away.

“We are trying to change and renovate the hotel and it is not fair for authorities to do this.

“What upsets us most is that these women who were taken away are legal residents with all their papers in order.”

The case has now been referred to the Public Prosecution.

By BEGENA P PRADEEP, Gulf Daily News
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