A woman working as a domestic servant in the home of a Sudanese diplomat in London has gone into her hiding, claiming she was being kept as a slave, a newspaper in London reported late Saturday.
The Sunday Telegraph claimed Zainab Nadir, also from Sudan, had fled from the household of Abdel Mahmoud Nour El Daiem Salih Al Koronky, who is head of information at the Sudanese embassy.
She said she had been kept as a slave by the diplomat's family since she was 12, and that she had not been allowed to leave their house in north London for the past three months, the newspaper said.
It quoted Muneer Sheikh al Din, the exiled leader of the Nuba Mountains Party, who had been helping to shelter Nadir since she fled.
The police have not been involved, but Nadir's lawyer is to apply for her to receive asylum in Britain, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
The diplomat's wife, Hanan, denied Nadir had been kept as against her will. "She was a housemaid and we treated her like a member of the family. We even gave her the same brand food as us and offered to have her educated."
Al Din said the girl was so upset she had needed medical treatment. "She was very frightened," he said. "It seemed something terrible had happened to her. She is still very traumatized." - LONDON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
