Security forces in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, stopped a charter flight to the
United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on the evening of 13 February, akipress.org reported. The plane's passengers included 61 young women-- one Kyrgyz citizen, one Turkmen citizen, and 59 Uzbek citizens --suspected of traveling to engage in prostitution. The women were removed from the flight and an investigation is ongoing. A BBC Uzbek Service correspondent who spoke with some of the women reported that one, a resident of Samarkand, said that she was traveling to work in a restaurant in Dubai. But another woman, a 17-year-old from Ferghana, said that she was going to the U.A.E. to work as a prostitute. The woman
cited a lack of alternative employment opportunities in Uzbekistan as the reasons for her decision. Cited in: RFE/RL Newsline Vol. 10, No. 29, Part I, www.rferl.org, 15 February 2006.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036. www.rferl.org.