UZBEK GOVERNMENT REPORTS CONVICTION IN TRAFFICKING

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000787 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP MEGAN HALL; SCA FOR JESSICA MAZZONE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM KWMN PHUM UZ SUBJECT: UZBEK GOVERNMENT REPORTS CONVICTION IN TRAFFICKING CASE ¶1. (U) A major state-run newspaper, Xalq Sozi (People's Word),ran a prominent 800-word article on July 1 reporting that a ring of Uzbek nationals was arrested for trafficking at least two Uzbek women to China with false employment offers. An Uzbek national, Aleksandr Rudenko, who worked in China, colluded with two female Uzbek citizens to recruit girls with the promise of secretarial jobs in Beijing for a purported salary of USD 600 per month. The article noted that two Uzbek women were trafficked and subsequently sexually exploited in China, but "somehow, they managed to escape and report to police." The article also reported that "the criminal group's members were detained and sentenced to long prison terms." ¶2. (U) Nodira Karimova, prominent anti-TIP activist and Director of the NGO "Istiqbolli Avlod," told poloff that the arrests were made in 2007 and the article corresponded with the convictions. Istiqbolli Avlod assisted the two TIP victims in the story, she said, and she believes the male was sentenced to six years in jail while the female accomplices received punishments of three years each. An attorney from Istiqbolli Avlod also helped represent the victims and contributed to the investigation. Comment: -------------- ¶3. (U) This story reflects a continuing trend of TIP incidents being openly reported in the tightly-controlled Uzbek media. The Government of Uzbekistan is encouraged by its improvement on the 2008 TIP Report ranking to the Tier 2 Watchlist, and it doubtless wants to be sure that it gets credit for successful law enforcement efforts to bust TIP rings. Publishing articles about the incident in the state-run press also helps to raise awareness about the problem and warn potential traffickers that Uzbekistan now means business in combating TIP crimes. NORLAND