2 December 2009
In an incident in November 2009, Kazakh police arrested four human traffickers and freed 16 women at a hotel in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The women, who had been forced into prostitutuion, were from Uzkebistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. It is believed that the suspected traffickers, all of whom are Kazakh citizens, are part of a larger human trafficking scheme in Russia and Central Asia.
The Interior Ministry spokesman for Tajikistan, Mahmadullo Asadulloev, acknowledged that it was possible that some Tajik women had become victims of an ongonig trafficking ring. He explained that despite efforts by Tajik security forces over the last five years to arrest traffickers, there are cases of Tajik women being trafficked into prostitution in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
Compiled from: The UN High Commission on Refugees, “Kazakh police arrest human traffickers, free captive women,” (17 November 2009).