Saudi diplomat accused of using Nepali maids as sex slaves withdrawn from India

A Saudi diplomat, accused of raping two Nepali maids in his apartment for months, has left India under diplomatic immunity.

The case has wedged New Delhi between a rock and a hard place, balancing relations with Saudi Arabia, one of its key oil suppliers, and Nepal, where India is competing for influence with China.

The two women, aged 30 and 50, have accused the man, identified as Majed Hassan Ashoor, the first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi, of illegally confining and raping them.  

According to a statement by police in Gurgaon, the women allege they were “beaten up, raped and abused and threatened by the family and their guests" for the past four to five months, adding that they were forbidden to go out of the house during this period. The maids say they were raped by eight men on one occasion, Reuters reported.

The victims' testimony and the medical reports reportedly corroborate their story. Last week, after receiving a tip off from a human trafficking group, police removed the women, who were assaulted and denied water and food. They have since reportedly returned to Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries. 

Demonstrators from the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) shout slogans and hold placards during a protest outside Saudi Arabia's embassy in New Delhi, India, September 10, 2015. © Anindito Mukherjee © Reuters

According to The Indian Express, Ashoor, in his 50s, was the deputy head of the visa section. Sources allegedly told the newspaper that he was a key diplomat who held additional charge at the Saudi Ambassador’s office. Until the rape controversy, he lived in Gurgaon with his wife and three children.

READ MORE: Saudi diplomat accused of rape in India claims immunity, files complaint

Neetu, another maid who managed to alert an NGO about the two Nepalese domestic servants trapped by the diplomat, said that she was starved and locked up in Ashoor's apartment too. She told the Hindustan Times that she was hired as a cook in late July, but things took a bad turn shortly after.

“I was asked to give them massages on some occasions but I refused,” Neetu said.

“The other two girls and I were not allowed to talk and were made to sleep in different rooms,” she said, adding that they were usually up until 4am washing and cleaning. All the three were eager to escape, but as soon as the diplomat got wind of their intentions, he started locking the women up.

After nearly a month of staying at the diplomat's house, Neetu decided to get out. This proved to be easier said than done. “The wife of the employer abused me and even held a knife to me and threatened to kill me.”
She told the newspaper that she approached the Nepal and the Saudi Arabian embassies over the plight of the trapped women, but no one reportedly took her seriously.

The Saudi Arabian embassy sent their diplomat home before India could declare him persona non grata and expel him, the Times of India reported. It's believed that the move would have affected relations between New Delhi and Riyadh, where millions of Indians live and work.

Although a case against the diplomat has been registered, police in India could not act against him because of diplomatic immunity. A police officer involved in the case told Reuters he is nonetheless confident that they will be able to track the other accused men because they have CCTV from the entrance of the apartment and will be able to track their mobile phones.

READ MORE: Saudi diplomat & family accused of raping, torturing 2 Nepali 'slaves'

The Saudi Embassy has denied the allegations against its diplomat and refused to let police question him, protesting against the intrusion by the Gurgaon police into his home.

According to the 1961 Vienna Convention, to which India is a party, diplomatic immunity cannot be violated unless the diplomat’s country decides to waive it, making the chances of prosecution highly unlikely.