SHOCKING

Saudi Prince Accused of Modern-Day Slavery by Employees in France

Seven women, most from the Philippines, worked for the prince and his family in Saudi Arabia before escaping during a trip to France.

French prosecutors say they’re investigating allegations that a Saudi prince kept seven women as slaves in an apartment he owned outside Paris. The women, mostly from the Philippines, filed complaints of modern-day slavery in October 2019, prompting an inquiry for human trafficking, says the prosecutor’s office in the city of Nanterre. The women had worked as maids for the prince and his family in Saudi Arabia and had escaped during a trip to France, a source close to the case said. The prince has yet to be questioned as he is currently not in France. Le Parisien reports that some of the women were required to sleep on the floor and barely had time to eat. “The first time we met with them, what was shocking to see was that they were hungry,” said Anick Fougeroux, head of the nongovernmental organization SOS Esclaves. “They were crying with hunger.”