Domestic abuse
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6297223,00.html?gusrc=ti...
Judge Orders Saudi Princess Deported
Friday December 22, 2006 6:01 AM
BOSTON (AP) - A Saudi Arabian princess accused of breaking U.S. immigration laws by locking up her domestics' passports and forcing them to work for low pay was ordered to be deported, prosecutors said Thursday.
Hana F. Al Jader of Winchester was sentenced to two years of probation, the first six months of which must be served in home confinement, after which she'll be deported to Saudi Arabia, prosecutors said.
An after hours call to Samantha Martin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, was not returned. It was unclear if the six months' home confinement Al Jader received included time she has already served while on bail in home confinement.
U.S. District Judge Reginald J. Lindsay also sentenced Al Jader, 40, to pay $206,000 in restitution to three of her former domestic servants, pay a $40,000 fine, and perform 100 hours of community service.
In September, Al Jader pleaded guilty to two counts of visa fraud for lying on immigration forms, and two counts of harboring an alien for keeping the two women at her house though she knew their visas had expired.
In a deal with prosecutors, six counts of forced labor were dropped in exchange for guilty pleas on the other charges.
Prosecutors alleged that Al Jader forced two domestic servants from Indonesia to work long hours, while holding their passports in a safe.
Al Jader submitted fraudulent forms to the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia guaranteeing the women would work eight hours daily for $1,500 a month, they charged.
The women were actually paid just $300 per month after arriving in February 2003 to cook, clean and care for Al Jader's disabled husband and their children.
A phone message left after hours Thursday to Al Jader's attorney, Joseph Balliro Sr., was not returned.
Al Jader and her husband, Prince Mohamed Bin Turki Al Saud, have lived in Winchester and Arlington since the mid-1990s, when the couple came to the United States to obtain medical and rehabilitation treatment for injuries the prince suffered in an auto accident.
Lindsay also sentenced Al Jader to forfeit a second residence in Arlington.
300 dollars instead of 1500 dollars? well i thought you are a princess :}
Interesing article. There was also a Saudi man in Denver who abused his maid both sexually and physically. He was sentenced to jail time if I recall correctly.
The problem is that while in Saudi Arabia Western expats are guest and have to follow their laws, while some Saudis in the US think the rules don't apply to them and if they get 'caught' they complain it's not fair and racist.