POLAND: GOVERNMENT STEPS UP EFFORTS VS. FORCED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 002511

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KJUS KCRM PGOV IT PL SP SW UK
SUBJECT: POLAND: GOVERNMENT STEPS UP EFFORTS VS. FORCED
LABOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING

REF: WARSAW 1570

WARSAW 00002511 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In the months since stories broke of Poles
trafficked to Spain and Italy for forced labor (Reftel) the
Polish government has stepped up efforts in the fight against
human trafficking. The Polish National Police (PNP) has
supplemented the five person Central Anti-Trafficking Unit
(CATU),established in July, by creating seventeen regional
teams which are cooperating on a new "Hit the Route" strategy
as well as increasing nationwide training of police on TIP
issues. More arrests have been made in the Italian labor
camp case, although the lack of a signed bilateral agreement
could be problematic for the prosecution. In October a
similar camp, at which trafficked Polish citizens were held
against their will, was shut down in Spain. There are
ongoing investigations of trafficking networks from Poland to
the United Kingdom and Sweden. The lack of a definition of
human trafficking in Poland's legal code has made prosecution
of trafficking for forced labor difficult, but the Krakow
prosecutor's decision to use the 2000 Palermo Protocol
definition created a useful precedent. END SUMMARY.

BOLSTERING ANTI-TRAFFICKING FORCES AND NEW STRATEGY
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) In a November 16 meeting with Poloff, Pawel
Maslowski, head of the CATU, reviewed the Polish government's
stepped up efforts in recent months in the fight against
human trafficking in general, and in prosecuting those
responsible for trafficking Poles to forced labor camps in
Spain and Italy, in particular. In July the PNP established
the five-person CATU, based in Warsaw and headed by
Maslowski. The unit functions within the PNP's Criminal
Bureau and is supported by six individuals from other
departments: two detectives each from the Criminal
Intelligence Office, Prevention Office, and Central Bureau of
Investigations, who are assigned to work on trafficking cases
as needed. In addition, over the last few months, the GOP
has allocated further resources to the anti-trafficking fight
by creating seventeen new teams of two or three people each
to combat human trafficking and child pornography. There is
one team in each of Poland's sixteen provinces and a local
unit in the Warsaw city police. The CATU tasks the new
regional teams on a case-by-case basis.


3. (SBU) Poland is on the crossroads of two major
international trafficking routes: the south-to-north Balkan
route (from Turkey through Poland to Scandinavia) and the
east-to-west Russian route (from Russia and Moldova through
Poland to Western Europe as far as Portugal). Traffickers
have traditionally utilized these routes for sex workers,
although authorities have noticed a sharp increase in
trafficking for forced labor. The PNP recently adopted a new
approach called "Hit the Route." Until recently police
reacted to individually reported cases or incidents of
trafficking, but under this new approach they are attempting
to coordinate their efforts and fight the entire trafficking
chain. Depending on the information in a case, the CATU
assigns it to a regional unit and this unit then works in
cooperation with others along the entire route. Maslowski
also noted that the CATU would like to begin investigating
trafficking in human organs and sex tourism involving minors.


4. (SBU) To further improve enforcement, the CATU has been
training police officers throughout the country on how to
identify victims of trafficking. This training includes a
standard list of questions for officers to ask, along with
exercises, instructions, and films that show officers how to
recognize victims. Activists such as La Strada's Stana
Buchowska note that Police treatment of victims, which has
long been a weakness, has improved somewhat.

PROGRESS ON ITALIAN LABOR CAMP CASE
--------------


5. (SBU) Maslowski also discussed progress on the case of
Poles trafficked to Italy and used for forced agricultural
labor. He stated that the "mirror investigations" conducted
by Polish and Italian police were effective for the
investigation and takedown phases, but the lack of a signed
agreement for joint prosecution is a problem for moving
forward. Polish prosecutors believe they have found some
legal justification for joint prosecution based on Article 19
of the European Convention for Organized Crime, and Justice
Minister Ziobro is planning a visit to Italy to propose an

WARSAW 00002511 002.2 OF 002


agreement. If signed, the joint investigative team could be
up and running within a month, with the case going to court
by summer 2007.


6. (SBU) So far 31 people have been arrested and charged with
human trafficking in the case. The most recent arrest took
place on November 16, when the PNP apprehended the alleged
leader of the criminal group that recruited Poles to work at
the forced labor camps, and his wife, who each face possible
maximum sentences of 10 years, and an associate, who faces a
five year sentence. Others arrested include 18 Poles who
were responsible for recruitment and transport, along with
Ukrainians and Algerians who served as camp guards. The
Italian owner of the farm, who claims he was unaware of the
brutal conditions of the camp, remains free. The CATU has
confirmed the identities of 113 of the over 300 victims
liberated from the forced labor camps, almost all of whom
have chosen to remain in Italy to look for another job. The
PNP is also gathering material evidence for murder charges in
the case. No bodies have been found so far, but police
estimate at least 10 people have been killed since July 2005.


CAMPS FOUND IN VALENCIAN ORANGE GROVES
--------------


7. (SBU) In a separate case, on October 30, Spanish police,
in cooperation with the CATU, arrested two Poles and four
Armenians in Spain, and another two Armenians in Poland who
were organizing forced labor camps at orange groves in the
Valencia region of Spain. The estimated 30 Poles imprisoned
in the camps worked for no pay, lived in crude barracks, and
resorted to eating grass for sustenance. Information about
the camps came to light after workers sent text messages to
police. The CATU tasked the regional team in Lodz with
investigating this case because a majority of the 20
identified victims come from that region. Only eight of
these victims have agreed to testify against their captors.


8. (SBU) According to Maslowski, the victims were recruited
for the camps in Poland via word of mouth by friends and
colleagues, with no advertisements in the press. Upon
arrival in Spain, the victims were put into indentured
servitude, forced to repay their "debts" for job placement
and transportation. The perpetrators also beat, threatened,
and utilized psychological torture on their victims.
Maslowski praised the responsiveness of the Spanish
authorities. Working only from the text messages the victims
placed to Polish police, Spanish police identified the camp
location and liberated the victims. Maslowski hinted that
the CATU is now tracking labor trafficking operations from
Poland to the United Kingdom and Sweden.

NEW LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS
--------------


9. (SBU) Poland has signed and ratified the 2000 Palermo
Protocol, which broadly defines trafficking in persons to
include recruitment, transportation, transfer of persons by
means of any form of coercion for the purpose of sexual
exploitation, forced labor, or servitude. However, the
Polish legal code does not actually define human trafficking,
leaving a gray area for prosecutors and judges, who often saw
forced prostitution as the only form of trafficking. Until
the July arrests in Italy, the concept of trafficking for
purposes other than sex work was not on prosecutors' nor the
public's radar. The press has actively followed this case,
and the decision by the Krakow prosecutor to use the Palermo
Protocol definition for cases beyond sexual trafficking has
created a precedent for forced labor trafficking. This is
now the de facto, if not the de jure, definition of human
trafficking used by Polish prosecutors. (Note: Maslowski and
NGOs are cautiously optimistic about this development, and
hope that it will give more teeth to the prosecution of
forced labor traffickers. End Note).
ASHE