By decree of the Sultan, in his eternal wisdom and mercy, no citizen of Medinaat al-Salaam may be taken into slavery.
Despite this law having existed now for centuries the city of Medinaat al-Salaam remains rife with slaves. That is not to say the law is not followed, it is followed strictly, to its very letter.
But, of course, those who were slaves when it was decreed were not citizens, were they?
And what of their children, and their children's children, and so forth through the generations?
And what of those slaves brought to the city by the Senpet or other foreign traders - those who were never once citizens of the Jewel?
And, lately, it is all too easy for one to be stripped of citizenship and after that....
All of that also fails to take into account the servants of the Dahabi. Though these servants often are citizens many are paying off debts accrued generations ago. Debts that only grow and doom their children to the same fate no matter how hard they work. Though these indentured servants are not slaves in the eyes of the law all that truly differs is the name.