Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04YEREVAN2647
2004-12-09 13:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:  

JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2004 DATA ON TIP PROSECUTION

Tags:  PGOV PREL KCRM KWMN PHUM AM KTIP 
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UNCLAS YEREVAN 002647 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL AND EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM KWMN PHUM AM KTIP
SUBJECT: JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2004 DATA ON TIP PROSECUTION
AND CONVICTIONS


Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

-------
SUMMARY
-------

UNCLAS YEREVAN 002647

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL AND EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM KWMN PHUM AM KTIP
SUBJECT: JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2004 DATA ON TIP PROSECUTION
AND CONVICTIONS


Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) According to data on Trafficking in Persons
(TIP) provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
for the period between January 1, 2004 and November 1,
2004, there have been 15 cases of trafficking in
Armenia involving 26 defendants. While most of those
people were sentenced to prison, the Article of the
Criminal Code on Trafficking was applied only in one
case. Comparison with data for 2003 shows a 25 percent
increase in cases investigated. End Summary.

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LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND
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2. (U) Trafficking in persons was defined as a crime
August 1, 2003 when the new Armenian Criminal Code
entered into force. TIP crimes committed prior to this
date were prosecuted on charges of organization of
prostitution (i.e., pimping). Law-enforcement bodies
have used the term "pimping abroad" in order to
simplify statistics and differentiate trafficking from
traditional forms of pimping. The Criminal Code
contains the following provisions: trafficking in
persons covered under Article 132; involvement in
prostitution under Article 261; organization of
prostitution (pimping) under Article 262.

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CASES AND CONVICTIONS
--------------


3. (SBU) Based on data provided by the Information
Center of the Republic of Armenia (RA) Police, in the
first eleven months of 2004 the Prosecutor's office and
the Police have investigated 24 criminal cases of
sexual exploitation of women involving 37 defendants.
Fifteen of these cases (involving 26 people) were
determined to be related to trafficking. Those 26
defendants received the following sentences:

-- Imprisonment --16 people (61.5 percent);
-- Fines -- 4 people (15.4 percent);
-- Suspended sentences -- 4 people (15.4 percent); and
-- Corrective Labor -- 2 people ( 7.7 percent).

These cases were prosecuted under Articles 261, 262 and
132 of the Criminal Code.

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ARTICLES APPLIED
--------------


4. (SBU) Article 132 on Trafficking was invoked only in
one case involving 3 persons, who were all sentenced to
prison (for terms ranging from 2 years to 4.5 years).
Article 261 on Involvement into Prostitution was also
applied once. In this case the defendant was penalized
in the amount of approximately USD 390. Article 262
was applied in 13 criminal cases involving 22 persons:
13 of those were sentenced to jail (for terms ranging
from 6 month to 3 years),3 persons were penalized
approximately USD 650, and 2 were sentenced to
corrective labor.

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COMPARISON WITH 2003 DATA
--------------


5. (SBU) Compared with data from 2003 (TIP Report 2004)
these reports indicate a roughly 25 percent increase in
the number of cases investigated. In addition,
traffickers prosecuted in 2004 received harsher
punishments than during 2003. In 2003 the police
initiated 2 cases under Article 132 and 17 cases under
Article 262. Of the latter, however, only nine were
trafficking cases (for a total of eleven cases). The
sentences handed down ranged from fines and
correctional labor to one-year imprisonment.
EVANS