Emirati woman gets jail in maids’ death, torture

DUBAI—A Dubai court has upheld a 15-year jail term for an Emirati woman who tortured her Ethiopian maid to death by forcing her to drink pesticide, media reported on Monday.

The 46-year-old housewife was also accused of torturing a Filipino maid and beating up a third whose nationality was not given, Gulf News reported.

Her husband, also an Emirati, was jailed for three years for “aiding and abetting the crime,” the daily said.

The woman starved her Ethiopian maid, “forced her to drink pesticide and denied her treatment after she developed pneumonia, resulting in the woman’s death,” Gulf News said.

Her husband had confined the maids to a room in the couple’s villa and sealed the windows, it said.

The Filipino maid testified at Sunday’s hearing that the housewife beat them with sticks, banged their heads against the wall until they bled, and forced them to drink detergent.

“She used to strip us, take our pictures and threaten to send them to our friends,” Gulf News quoted her as saying.

She said her employer “offered me a huge sum of money to keep silent” following the death of the Ethiopian maid, identified by The National as Khadija Kamel.

The Filipino said her employer forced her to drink detergent because she disapproved of the way she cleaned the bathroom, the newspapers reported.

The husband and wife have denied the charges and have 30 days to appeal in the Court of Cassation.