NY couple convicted of slave holding
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - A jury on Monday convicted a millionaire couple of enslaving two Indonesian women they brought to their mansion to work as housekeepers.The unanswered question here is - do they adhere to Islam? That the wife is from a country like Indonesia suggests that.
Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 45, were each convicted of all charges in a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude, and harboring aliens.
Prosecutors said the women were subjected to repeated psychological and physical abuse and were forced to work 18 hours or more a day.
The Sabhnanis, who have four children and operate a worldwide perfume business out of their Muttontown home on Long Island's Gold Coast, could face up to 40 years in prison, although attorneys predicted the punishment would be considerably less. He is from India, and she is from Indonesia, but both are naturalized U.S. citizens.
I also find it troubling that this article cites "harboring aliens" as a charge - the women were not exactly there on their own free will. But that's the AP that wrote this, so we can't be too surprised if they're resorting to some dishonest tactics here.
More on this at A Blog for All.
Labels: Asia, India, misogyny, New York, United States