Saudi Princess Charged With Human Trafficking in California

We have another Saudi royal on the criminal docket. The latest family member of the House of Saud was arrested in Santa Ana for human trafficking where a Kenyan woman gave a familiar account of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. She said that her passport was taken and she was forced to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week for virtually no money. Meshael Alayban, 42, is one of the wives of Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al Saud.

Once in the United States, the woman apparently realized that she had a chance for freedom. The 30-year-old domestic worker from Kenya was seen flagging down a Southern California bus and told a passenger that she was being held against her will.

Police arrested the princess at an Irvine condominium and searched the residence. Her lawyer insists this is merely a contractual dispute. She signed a two-year contract with an employment agency for $1,600 a month to work eight hours a day, five days a week. However, she told police that she was paid only $220 and forced to cook, clean and do other household chores. In Irvine, she says that she worked 16 hours to care for at least eight people in four apartments in the same Irvine complex, washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and ironing

Alayban’s bail was set at $5 million. She was ordered to submit to GPS monitoring and banned her from leaving the county without authorization.

Source: Washington Post