09 June 2004 14:15
Two slave trade suspects detained in Tajikistan
Dushanbe, 9 June: Two local residents have been detained on suspicion of organizing slave trade in [northern] Soghd
Region of Tajikistan. The region's deputy prosecutor, Zokir Nazarov, told ITAR-TASS today that criminal proceedings
had been instituted into this case under article "For recruiting people for exploitation", which envisages a
prison term of up to 12 years.
Nazarov said that a collective complaint by 24 women about the disappearance of their husbands and also testimony by
two local residents, who had escaped slavery by a miracle, was the reason for launching the criminal case. According to
them, in the search for jobs, they had heard that their two fellow-countrymen were recruiting those desiring to work in
construction sites in the Moscow area, guaranteeing large salaries. They were delivered to Moscow in a group of 24
people, and were then handed over to Caucasian people. Realizing that they had been entrapped, the men attempted to run
away, but only two of them succeeded.
"We are carrying out an investigation to establish the whereabouts of the remaining compatriots. The Prosecutor
General's Office has contacted the Russian colleagues to conduct a joint investigation," Nazarov said. Nazarov
said that the regional prosecutor's office had launched five criminal cases into similar crimes since the beginning
of this year.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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