GREECE SCORES VICTORY AGAINST INTERNATIONAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001416 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT G/TIP FOR HALL, EUR/SE FOR MELLINGER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KHUM KWMN KCRM SMIG GR SUBJECT: GREECE SCORES VICTORY AGAINST INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING RING ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On July 8, Greek anti-trafficking police carried out simultaneous raids on 34 different locations in Athens, arresting 11 suspected members of an international trafficking ring and another 62 persons accused of facilitating vice and prostitution. Three women (out of 45 detained) were identified as trafficking victims. One NGO director lauded police efforts for involving three different NGOs, but questioned some procedures that might have limited identification of more victims and said they prefer to see convictions and sentences before calling this a victory against trafficking. END SUMMARY. MAJOR COORDINATED OPERATION -------------- ¶2. (U) In a series of 34 coordinated raids on July 7-8, Greek police concluded a two-month investigation into an international trafficking ring headquartered in Athens. The investigation, according to press reports, resulted from information provided to Greek authorities by the Ukrainian police identifying a man who brought two women from Ukraine to Greece where he forced them to work as prostitutes. ¶3. (U) The raids, carried out in bars, striptease clubs and private apartments, netted 11 suspected members of the ring, eight men and three women from Greece, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Also arrested were an additional 62 suspects from Greece, Albania, Poland, Armenia, Romania, Czech Republic, Nigeria and Venezuela, who will be charged with facilitating vice in others and prostitution. Through cooperation with Interpol and Europol, another two persons were arrested in Ukraine. Police are continuing to search for an additional seven suspects. ¶4. (SBU) In addition to the arrests, Police also uncovered a telephone center operating out of an Athens suburban apartment, equipped with 36 telephone lines where police allege that 12 women per shift arranged appointments for sexual services with clients. Business was so brisk that the onset of the arrests was delayed when an undercover police officer posing as a customer had to wait several hours before the first available prostitute could reach him. NEW LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT FOR NGOs -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In a new effort to aid in the identification of trafficking victims, Police for the first time, involved three different NGOs in the operational phase of the investigation. According to one NGO leader, police notified them 24 hours in advance and invited the groups to be present at the anti-trafficking police headquarters once the raids began. The three NGOs were KLIMAKA, which runs a women's shelter, Praxis, a medical NGO, and the Greek Council of Refugees, an NGO that represents trafficking victims in court. ¶6. (SBU) Eva Roussos (please protect) director of the shelter operated by the NGO KLIMAKA said she observed a total of 45 women brought in by police during the course of the night raids, beginning at four-hirty a.m. and concluding the next day at sixp.m. She lamented the fact that NGOs were only able to speak with ten of the women in an effort to identify trafficking victims. Roussos believed that most of the other 35 women were likely not/not trafficking victims, "but one or two of them may have been, and may have spoken to us if given the chance." Roussos also noted with displeasure that the 45 women were all held together in the same holding area (a corridor) with the men who were also under arrest. She praised officers, however, for taking the initiative to invite the NGOs to the police station in advance of the arrests. In meeting with the women, Roussos said she was struck by the fact that all told the exact same story: "I knew I was coming to Greece for prostitution. I came on my own. I bought my false passport (or visa) on my own. I don't want to stop working as a prostitute." ¶7. (SBU) Roussos saw the event mainly as an important lesson for all parties involved. KLIMAKA trains police officers to ATHENS 00001416 002 OF 002 identify trafficking victims and Roussos said that being at the police station during the raids helped her to understand better what difficulties the officers face. Likewise, she learned things that she would do differently in the future, including having more translators available in advance. But Roussos' enthusiasm was tempered with concern about calling this a major trafficking victory. "I saw this group as more of a prostitution group than a trafficking group," she explained and added that "we still need to see convictions. If they are out in two months or two years, I won't call it a success." COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Despite the less than ideal implementation of the victim screening at the Police station, the early and extensive involvement of NGOs in the investigation is a new and encouraging step and may signal GoG willingness to begin to think and act in new ways to step up victim identification. We have urged GoG officials to work more closely with NGOs on victim identification; NGO involvement in this case is a positive step forward. COUNTRYMAN