Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05YEREVAN108
2005-01-21 12:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:  

SIX CASES OF TRAFFICKING PROSECUTED AS

Tags:  PGOV PREL KCRM AM KTIP 
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UNCLAS YEREVAN 000108 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL AND EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM AM KTIP
SUBJECT: SIX CASES OF TRAFFICKING PROSECUTED AS
PIMPING


Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

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

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000108

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL AND EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM AM KTIP
SUBJECT: SIX CASES OF TRAFFICKING PROSECUTED AS
PIMPING


Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

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


1. (SBU) The Prosecutor General's (PG) Office provided
detailed information on six criminal cases prosecuted
in 2004 under Article 262 of the Armenian Criminal Code
on the Organization of Prostitution (i.e., pimping).
The defendants of all the cases were either recruiters,
mediators, or pimps who sent women for prostitution to
the United Arab Emirates (UAE); moreover, most of the
defendants were cited in more than one case. Aristakes
Yeremyan, the investigator from the PG's Office, who is
the main person to deal with the pimping cases,
categorically denied that these cases could be
considered trafficking with the explanation that in all
those cases women knew in advance that they would work
as prostitutes before they left for Dubai. While we
are pleased that the authorities aggressively pursued
investigation and prosecution in these cases, we remain
frustrated by their reluctance to applying the new
trafficking statute. End Summary.

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NUMBERS AND BACKGROUNDS OF THE TRAFFICKERS
--------------


2. (SBU) The six cases together involved thirteen
recruiters in Armenia and ten pimps in Dubai. The
cases also mentioned the names of at least 80 women,
who were sent to the UAE for prostitution, some of whom
are still there. Some of these women were involved in
the investigation of the cases as witnesses. Most of
the pimps and recruiters are women whose age ranges
from early 30s to late 40s, half of them have previous
convictions (generally on charges of pimping),most of
them are unemployed with modest educations and come
from the regions of Armenia, a few of them worked as
prostitutes before becoming pimps or recruiters.

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TRANSPORTATION ROUTE
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3. (SBU) The transportation route was the same for all
the cases. The recruiters first sent the women to
Moscow, where they stayed for several days in rented
apartments with a group of Armenian men who obtained
false documents for them.

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THE COURT CONVICTIONS
--------------


4. (SBU) The court has already made decisions on four
of those cases; the court hearings on the remaining two
are still in progress. Three recruiters, one pimp and
two mediators (who worked in Moscow) received prison
sentences ranging from six to eighteen months. One
pimp and two recruiters paid fines ranging from USD 400
to 800.

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WHY PROSECUTORS DON'T APPLY THE TRAFFICKING ARTICLE
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) The Armenian public, the press, and the
Prosecutor General's office still generally hold the
opinion that women who go abroad, knowing in advance
that they will work as prostitutes, are not victims of
trafficking. They regard the entire recruitment and
transportation process merely as organized prostitution
and not trafficking. According to Armenian
legislation, however, and in accordance with
international norms, it does not matter whether the
women knew that they would work as prostitutes or not.
The GOAM, and in particular the Prosecutor's office,
needs to move beyond this attitude in order to
successfully criminalize and combat trafficking in
persons.
EVANS