TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN ARMENIA: THE VIEW FROM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000562

SIPDIS

DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, E. SIDEREAS; G/TIP, R. LERNER;
INL/AAE, J. CAMPBELL; DOJ FOR OPDAT, C. LEHMANN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2014
TAGS: AM KCRM PHUM PINR SMIG SNAR
SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN ARMENIA: THE VIEW FROM
THE PROCURATOR'S OFFICE

REF: YEREVAN 171

Classified By: DCM WALKER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Through an Advisor to the Minister of Justice, we
have obtained a copy of a report on trafficking in perons
(TIP) in Armenia prepared by the Office of the Procurator
General. The detail and scope of the report's findings,
along with recent Embassy demarches on Armenia's shaky Tier
II status, should prompt the GOAM to take more decisive
ownership of the TIP problem. The report also reveals local
law enforcement's surprisingly proactive and productive
efforts in the fight against TIP. Details of the report to
the Minister of Justice follow.


Trafficking in Persons from Armenia



2. (C) Law enforcement has identified the U.A.E. as the
primary country of destination for Armenian victims of
trafficking. As a result, law enforcement has focused its
efforts on trafficking rings working out of Dubai and has
stepped up efforts in the cities of Yerevan, Vanadzor and
Kapan as well as in Syunik Marz (region)-- the major points
of origin for trafficked victims in Armenia.


3. (C) The report indicates that because securing visas for
unmarried women under 30 for the U.A.E. is difficult, ring
leaders often use stolen passports or false marriages to
facilitate entry to the U.A.E. Traffickers arrange travel
for groups of women to the U.A.E. at their (traffickers')
expense. Upon arrival in Dubai, the women are expected to
generate USD 6,000 to 10,000 to repay their debt; subsequent
revenue is later to be split 50/50. Once in Dubai, the
women's passports are collected and their movements
controlled. Armenian Prosecutors believe that trafficking
rings are creating pyramids, whereby initially recruited
women begin recruiting for the ring in exchange for being
relieved of the obligation to split proceeds 50/50 with the
ringleaders. The Armenian Prosecutor alleges that
traffickers tell women returning to Armenia that they will
likely be "shaken down" by airport officials and that their
earnings will therefore be transferred to them in Armenia via
Western Union. Very often funds are never transferred.


4. (C) Currently, there are two suspects in custody in
Armenia who are believed to be involved in trafficking women
to Dubai. The Office of the Procurator General (OPG) has
amassed extensive information on suspected victims, their
aliases and false passport information; ringleaders have also
been identified. OPG has forwarded information about the
traffickers to their counterparts in Dubai with a request
that the suspected ringleaders be detained. OPG is
optimistic that the leader of this trafficking ring will be
arrested and returned to Armenia; however, Dubai officials
have not yet acted on this request.


5. (C) The report further indicates that Dubai authorities
have requested that Armenian law enforcement travel to Dubai
to collaborate on the case. The Interagency Commission to
Address Issues Related to Human Trafficking indicated that
plans to travel to Dubai were postponed because information
regarding the trip was reportedly leaked; however, law
enforcement officials are hopeful that they will be able to
travel to Dubai soonest.


6. (C) Concern in Armenia over trafficking of Armenians to
Turkey is increasing. A local NGO that has been providing
assistance to victims of trafficking in Armenia since
December 2003 reports that it has assisted a man who was
trafficked to Turkey via Georgia to be exploited for
construction work in Istanbul. The victim was able to return
with the help of the Russian Consulate in Istanbul and
reported to the NGO that he is aware of other victims still
in Turkey. Furthermore, an ongoing Armenian law enforcement
investigation has uncovered a trafficking ring working in
Turkey. The Office of the Procurator
General anticipates arrests in the very near future.


Trafficking in Persons through Armenia



7. (C) Since 2002, Armenian law enforcement officials have
been investigating at least one trafficking ring operating
between Central Asia and the U.A.E. via the Caucasus. Prior
to the cancellation in March 2003 of the Tashkent-Yerevan
flight, women reportedly were brought from Uzbekistan to
Armenia and then sent on to Dubai. Following the
cancellation of the flight, the route has changed: Uzbek
women are allegedly transported to Georgia, cross the land
border into Armenia and then sent on to Dubai. (NOTE: There
is a direct Yerevan-Dubai flight operated by the local
airline. END NOTE.)


8. (C) OPG believes that trafficking rings operating out of
Central Asia are comprised of Armenians with Uzbek
citizenship and Armenians with Georgian citizenship. The
ring's activities are allegedly supported by extended family
that provide transport, housing, etc. in return for
compensation. One prosecutor has indicated that the ring's
activities may extend even farther-- at least one of the
Uzbek victims has traveled to Southeast Asia, the U.A.E. and
most recently Armenia. The Prosecutor's office believes that
the ring also maintains a travel business (name not
disclosed) in Georgia, which organizes theft of Georgian
passports for use by the women.


9. (C) Recently, 8 Uzbek women were freed from their
traffickers by law enforcement and referred to a local NGO in
Yerevan for safehaven and assistance (reftel). Three alleged
traffickers-- Armenians with Uzbek citizenship, are in
custody and an investigation is ongoing. Relatives of the
traffickers believed to be still located in Uzbekistan
recruited the 8 women separately; the women traveled to
Yerevan on their own passports via Moscow. OPG reports that
the traffickers intended to send the women to Dubai after
obtaining fraudulent travel documents in Armenia. OPG
believes that intense law enforcement efforts impeded the
trafficker's ability to obtain false passports for the 8
women and plans to travel to Dubai were cancelled. The women
and OPG reported that the traffickers set them up to work as
elite prostitutes in high-end saunas and small hotels in
Armenia and began, what turned out for the traffickers to be,
a booming business in Yerevan.


10. (C) Comment: The Advisor to the Minister of Justice,
who has excellent contacts throughout the GOAM, has
effectively raised concerns about Armenia's TIP record with
the Foreign Minister, Justice Minister and Presidency. His
discussions with the Office of the Procurator General
indicate (and the report confirms) that at the law
enforcement level, TIP is being taken very seriously. In the
months to come, we will be watching to see whether the higher
levels of the GOAM are prepared to take full, public
ownership of this problem.
ORDWAY