Thirteen men have been indicted in an international sex trafficking case, which they are accused of using women as slaves. One of the suspects is a Senior Russian intelligence officer.
In March 2009, a senior officer in Russia's Defense Ministry was charged with leading an international sex ring operation that involved using women as sex slaves and now a Moscow court will resume hearings of the thirteen men who have been accused.
The Moscow Regional Court will handle such a case for the first time, according to military court spokesperson Aleksandr Minchanovsky. Many are surprised at the people involved. A large number of the defendants are high-ranking government officials within the intelligence and military communities, reports the
St. Petersburg Times.
Authorities believe the men smuggled more than one hundred women throughout Europe and the Middle East, including Greece, Germany, Netherlands, Israel and Italy. Unfortunately, for the past couple of decades, the name Natasha was a codename for prostitute.
One "Natasha," according to
Russia Today, thought she was going to the United Arab Emirates on vacation, however, that was not the case as she explained, “I didn’t have the slightest doubt. My best friend asked me if I wanted to join her on holiday. As it turned out, she just brought me there as a slave, took the money and left. People who are involved in this business have so many connections, they fear nothing. They have policemen, judges, even sheikhs among their clients. I’m very afraid they will find me. I’m afraid for my own life and the life of my family.”
Due to the severity of the men involved and the situation she thought she wouldn’t survive the turmoil that she went through but, months later, she escaped captivity.
Nevertheless, testimony of one suspect, who claims he is innocent, said many of the people involved did so because they had no other choice due to declines of state financing since the 1990s.
Afsona Kadyrova, a lawyer with the Angel Coalition, an umbrella organization of anti-trafficking NGOs operating in nine Russian regions, did provide good news in the sense that sex trade is down because of higher living standards and public awareness of plots that try to lure women into these areas like forced prostitution.
