Slavery of any type is horrible, yet it does seem to continue.
Although the following articles concerning Meshael Alayban, 42 - a Saudi Arabian princess - are to say the least, disturbing, many within the United States of America government - Congress, some politicians ... - utilize illegal foreign workers on and/or within their residences and/or businesses. They don't pay them proper wages and/or give what United States of American citizens would receive relating to insurances and/or benefits.
These workers often appear to be timid and/or scared to speak out against their employer(s) for the fear of being deported and/or imprisoned.
Reasons why these politicians seem to get away with these acts, is due to the ever growing wide spread Corruption within our our governmental structure.
As stated above: Slavery of any type is horrible, yet it does seem to continue.
Time to STOP slavery for all, not just for those who can be used for political maneuvering.
Michael Love, IIO
Via
Saudi princess arrested, Meshael Alayban freed on $5 million bail in Calif.
Friday, July 12, 2013
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| Saudi princess Meshael Alayban, right, listens to an interpreter during her scheduled appearance in court Thursday July 11, 2013 in Santa Ana, Calif. Alayban appeared in Orange County Superior Court Thursday but her arraignment was delayed to July 29 at the request of her attorney. Alayban, 42, was charged Wednesday with human trafficking and accused of holding a domestic worker from Kenya against her will. (AP Photo / AP Photo/Nick Ut) |
July 12, 2013 (LOS ANGELES) -- A Saudi princess arrested and charged with human trafficking was freed after posting $5 million bail, but authorities imposed strict travel requirements and GPS tracking to keep her in Southern California.
Meshael Alayban, 42, who prosecutors said is one of the six wives of Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud, was released Thursday after posting the hefty bail amount a day after her arrest.
Earlier in the day she had appeared in court wearing a dark blue jail jumpsuit to answer to one felony charge of human trafficking. She did not enter a plea. Her arraignment was postponed to July 29.
Alayban was arrested after a Kenyan woman who worked for her as a maid alleged she was held against her will and forced to work. The maid led police to a condominium where Alayban's family was staying, authorities said.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said after court Thursday that the woman was subjected to "forced labor," and likened Alayban to a slave owner.
"It's been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, and slavery has been unlawful in the United States, and certainly in California, all this time, and it's disappointing to see it in use here," said Rackauckas, who had requested that Alayban's bail be set at $20 million.
Defense attorney Paul Meyer declined comment on the case but previously said it was just a dispute over domestic work hours.
Alayban is forbidden to have contact with the alleged victim, cannot leave Orange County without permission from the court, and had to turn over her passport.
The Kenyan woman said her passport was taken from her when she left her country to work for Alayban, hoping to make enough money to cover her ailing 7-year-old daughter's medical bills.
The 30-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, alleges she was forced to work long hours and was paid only a fraction of what she was promised.
Authorities said it wasn't until she traveled with the Saudi family on their vacation to the United States that she was able to escape, flag down a bus, and call police, authorities said.
When police searched the condo, they found four other workers, from the Philippines. The women left voluntarily with officers and told them they were interested in being free, police said. No charges have been filed related to those women and police said there were no signs any of the workers had been physically abused.
The women's passports had been held with the victim's documents in a safe deposit box, Rackauckas said.
The case is the first labor trafficking case prosecuted in Orange County since voters approved a law last year to stiffen the penalties for the crime. If convicted, Alayban faces a maximum sentence of 12 years, which is double the sentence she could have received a year ago, Rackauckas said.
The Saudi royal family is extensive, with thousands of princes and princesses, including some who have run into trouble with the law.
In 2002, Saudi princess Buniah al-Saud, who was accused of pushing her maid down a flight of stairs, entered a no-contest plea in Florida and was fined $1,000. In 1995, another Saudi princess, Maha Al-Sudairi, allegedly beat a servant in front of sheriff's deputies providing off-duty security. No charges were ever filed.
"These people have lots of money; they think they're above the law," said Ali AlAhmed, director of the Washington-based Institute for Gulf Affairs.
Via
11 July 2013Last updated at 22:21 ET
Saudi princess Meshael Alayban charged with trafficking
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| Meshael Alayban did not enter a plea in her first court appearance on Thursday |
A woman described as a Saudi princess has been arrested in California and accused of human trafficking.
Meshael Alayban, 42, is accused of forcing a Kenyan woman to work 16 hours a day while paying her far less than what she was originally promised.
Authorities say Ms Alayban took the woman's passport, precluding her escape. Her lawyer called the case a dispute over work hours.
In November, California voters toughened human trafficking penalties.
If convicted, Ms Alayban faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, double the punishment prescribed before voters approved the law known as Proposition 35.
Prosecutors say she is one of six wives of Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a scion of the Saudi royal family.
"A slave"
The unnamed Kenyan woman had begun working for Ms Alayban last year in Saudi Arabia under a two-year contract with an employment agency.
That contract guaranteed her $1,600 (£1,050) a month for eight-hour work days, five days a week, California officials said. Instead she was paid $220 a month and forced to work twice as long, according to prosecutors.
The 30-year-old Kenyan woman also alleges her passport was taken from her when she arrived in Saudi Arabia. It was only returned to her long enough for her to travel to the US with Ms Alayban.
In California, she said she was forced to perform household chores for at least eight people in four units at the same block of flats where she was allegedly held captive. When she managed to escape, she flagged down a bus driver and later went to police.
Ms Alayban was arrested on Wednesday.
Accused's wealth
"My client was a slave to this woman," said Steve Barick, a lawyer for the accuser.
"She wasn't able to freely move about. She had her ability to move in and about the country taken away. She was intimidated. She was promised one thing when she was in another country and when she was brought here that was changed. She was overworked. She was underpaid."
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas described the accuser's situation as "an example of forced labour."
"It's been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, so slavery has been illegal in the United States and certainly in California all this time," he said. "It's disappointing to see it in use here."
Ms Alayban did not enter a plea in her first court appearance on Thursday. She was released on $5m bail shortly after the hearing but was ordered to surrender her passport and to wear a GPS tracking device.
Prosecutors had asked a judge for bail to be set at $20m or denied entirely, given Ms Alayban's wealth.
Related:
US reports reveals "modern slavery" toll , US & CANADA
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Saudi Arabian princess charged with human trafficking after a domestic slave at her Orange County condo managed to escape
A Saudi princess was charged on Wednesday in California with human trafficking for allegedly holding a domestic worker against her will
Meshael Alayban, 42, has been charged with one count of human trafficking. If convicted, she faces up to 12 years in prison
Her alleged victim, a 30-year-old Kenyan woman escaped and then flagged down a bus to seek help
By James Nye
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Bail has been set at $5 million for a Saudi Arabian princess after she was charged with holding a servant hostage against her will on Wednesday.
Meshael Alayban, 42, faces human trafficking charges and up to 12 years in prison after she allegedly held a 30-year-old Kenyan at her Orange County, California home after taking her passport from her.
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| Accused: This image provided by the Irvine Police Department shows Meshael Alayban, who was arrested July 9, 2013 in Irvine, California, for allegedly holding a domestic servant against her will |
Alayban was arrested after the Kenyan woman carrying a suitcase flagged down a bus after escaping and tearfully told a passenger that she was a human trafficking victim.
The passenger helped the lady contact police who traveled to Alayban's home where they found another four servants from the Philippines allegedly in similar conditions after serving a search warrant on the condo where the princess, her husband and her family lived.
The 30-year-old woman was hired through an agency in Kenya in March 2012 and her passport was taken from her on arrival in Saudi Arabia by Alayban - who is married to a member of the ruling al-Saud family of Saudi Arabia, which has up to five thousand members.
Police say Alayban's family traveled to the United States in May with the victim and four women from the Philippines.
In court details released today it is claimed that Alayban is one of the wives of Saudi Arabian Prince Abdul Rahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud.
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| Seriousness: Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas speaks at an informal news conference after a hearing at the Santa Ana Courthouse in Santa Ana, California today after Meshael Alayban was charged |
The Saudi Arabian consulate in Los Angeles has indicated they will pay the bail and Alayban has been ordered to wear a GPS tracking device as she is considered a flight risk.
'This is not a contract dispute,' Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told the court during a bail hearing on Wednesday afternoon. 'This is holding someone captive against their will.'
Alayban did not appear in court. Her attorney, Paul Meyer, said the case was a contractual dispute and argued his client shouldn't be assigned a ransom-like bail solely because she was rich. He said she had been traveling to the United States since she was a child, owned properties here and had given her word she would address the allegations.
'This is a domestic work hours dispute,' he said.
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| Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, (left), watches as Irvine Police Chief David Maggard speaks after a hearing at the Santa Ana Courthouse in Santa Ana, California, today |
Rackauckas had originally asked the judge to deny bail for Alayban or set it at $20 million, saying it was unlikely any amount would guarantee a Saudi princess would show up in court.
The victim was working 'around the clock' for the family cooking, cleaning and caring for children, said Irvine police chief David Maggard Jr. She had been promised wages of $1,600 a month but was paid only about $200 a month, Rackauckas said.
The victims alleges that instead of her contracted work eight hours a day, five days a week, she instead was putting in 16 hour shifts, seven days a week on every conceivable household chore.
The Kenyan lady also said that she was working abroad to pay for her daughter's medical bills.
Alayban allegedly only gave the passports to the five women at passport control and has had them under lock and key in a bank safe box since they arrived in the United States in May.
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| Arrest: Police in Orange County arrested Meshael Alayban at this condo in Irvine - where she has been staying with her family since May of this year |
Investigations into each of the victims' circumstances are ongoing. All five women are said to be in good health. No indications of physical abuse were found and were being assisted with finding housing at a shelter.
The other four women left the home voluntarily with police once authorities arrived. They told police they were interested in being free, Maggard said.
No charges have been filed in connection with their circumstances. Alayban is set to be arraigned in court on Thursday.
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| Powerful: Senior members of the Saudi royal family walk around Mecca - Meshael Alayban is married to a member of the ruling al-Saud family in the Middle Eastern nation |
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| Distressed: The unidentified 30-year-old Kenyan woman hailed down a bus in Orange County and explained to a passenger her alleged imprisonment |
'The laws of our nation and California do not tolerate people who deprive or violate the liberty of another and obtain forced labor or services,' District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said in the statement.
'If any person is being enslaved, he or she should contact law enforcement. Any victim of human trafficking will receive the benefit and protection of the laws of the United States and California.'
The Orange County District Attorney's office has confirmed that she is facing up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
