MANAMA, Aug 22: A husband and wife in Bahrain have been jailed for three years after tricking a fellow national into travelling to the kingdom with the false promise of a beauty salon job, only to force her into prostitution.

The pair, who were also fined 2,000 Bahraini dinars (£4,200) each, will be deported permanently after serving their sentences. The court additionally ordered them to cover the cost of returning the victim to her home country.

According to court records, the woman had been desperate to find work to support her elderly mother and accepted an offer to work as a hairdresser. But when she arrived in Bahrain, her passport was seized by her employer (the husband), who claimed it was for safekeeping, and she was moved into the couple’s flat.

There, she was told her real “job” was to work in prostitution. The victim later reported the ordeal to authorities, leading to an investigation by the Anti-Human Trafficking Division. Detectives traced the crime back to the couple, with prosecutors accusing the wife of masterminding the false job offer and arranging the victim’s travel.

Both were convicted at Bahrain’s First High Criminal Court of human trafficking and exploiting the vulnerable woman.