RPT - US Charges Ex-Kuwaiti Diplomat With Forced Labor - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th October, 2022) US authorities charged a former Kuwaiti diplomat to the UN and his wife with abusing domestic workers from India and the Philippines, in addition to visa and contracting fraud, the Justice Department said in a press release.

"Barrak Abdulmohsen Alhunaif, a former diplomatic attache assigned to the United Nations Permanent Mission of the State of Kuwait, and his wife Khaledah Saad Aldhubaibi, were charged in Manhattan Federal court with forced labor... in connection with their hiring and subsequent abuse of three domestic workers from India and the Philippines," the department said on Tuesday.

The former diplomat and his wife allegedly paid domestic workers as little as $700 per month while forcing them to work in excess of 40 hours a week with no regular days off.

The Justice Department also accused the couple of verbally and physically abusing workers. In addition, the release alleges that Alhunaif and Aldhubaiba refused two of the workers timely medical care for illnesses caused by or caught while they were working.

In addition to forced labor, the couple was charged with visa fraud and fraud in foreign labor contracting, among other crimes.

The forced labor charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison while the others carry sentences ranging from 5 to 10 years each. Aldhubaibi if proven guilty on all charges could face up to 35 years in prison and Alhunaif up to 80 years.