Lebanese security forces arrested a man on Thursday on suspicion of putting a Nigerian domestic worker up “for sale” online, Al Jazeera reported.
The man placed the advertisement on a Facebook page popular in Lebanon for the casual trade of items such as furniture, food, and shoes.
“Domestic worker of African citizenship (Nigerian) for sale with a new residency and full legal papers,” a Facebook account under the name Wael Jerro posted on a page entitled “Buy and Sell in Lebanon.” Authorities remain unsure of the post’s exact date.
On Thursday, members of Lebanon’s General Security, the country’s leading intelligence agency that controls entry and exit from the Mediterranean country, arrested a suspect. The agency told Al Jazeera on Thursday that an investigation into the incident is currently underway.
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najem had ordered the judiciary to follow up on the case, citing Lebanon’s anti-human trafficking law, according to Al Jazeera. Lebanon’s Ministry of Labor also released a statement saying anyone who advertises domestic workers online would be prosecuted. In her statement on Wednesday, Najem said the case represented a “blatant violation of human dignity.”
Al Jazeera said Nigerian officials have requested that Lebanese authorities investigate the incident.
Approximately 250,000 migrant domestic workers live and work in Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera. Most are from sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia and Ghana, as well as Asian nations like Nepal and the Philippines.
In Lebanon, the country’s kafala system requires workers to obtain their employer’s permission to end a job contract, Al Jazeera reports. The system, which also ties workers’ legal residency to their employers, has led to widespread abuse, including wage withholding, and physical and sexual assault.
Camille Abousleiman, Lebanon’s former labor minister, has called kafala “modern-day slavery.”