13 Arrested for Human Trafficking in Oman
The Royal Oman Police, (ROP), arrested more than ten people of Arab nationalities on charges of human trafficking. A statement issued by ROP said: “The Directorate General of Inquiries and Criminal Investigations arrested a group of 13 Arab nationals, according to the attached photo, on charges of human trafficking, by luring victims and coercing them to perform acts contrary to ethics and public morals”. Reports confirmed that legal procedures are being completed against them, noting that this comes as part of its efforts to combat human trafficking.
It is noteworthy that the Law on Combating Human Trafficking issued by Royal Decree No. (126/2008) defined in its second article the perpetrator of a human trafficking crime as every person who deliberately and for the exploitation of employs, transports, harbours or receives a person through coercion, threat, subterfuge, or by exploiting the position or influence, a state of vulnerability, or exploiting a certain power over that person or by any other illegal means, whether direct or indirect.
This is in addition to using, transporting, harbouring, or receiving a juvenile, even if the means stipulated in the previous clause were not used. The penalties include imprisonment for a period of no less than three years for the perpetrator of this crime, and a fine of no less than 5,000 and no more than 100,000 Omani riyals.
These penalties are increased if the victim is a juvenile, i.e. has not reached the legal age, or if there are multiple perpetrators, or if this crime is of an international nature or results in injury to the victim with a mental or physical disease. The penalty for such cases is imprisonment for no less than 7 years and not more than 15 years.
