This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 14 ANKARA 000592 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, INL/CTR, DRL, PRM, IWI 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PGI 
DEPARTMENT FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TURKEY: FIFTH ANNUAL TIP REPORT: PROSECUTION 
 
REF: SECSTATE 273089 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶2. (U) Post's responses are keyed to questions in Reftel A. 
This is part 2 of 4 (septel). 
 
 
Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶A. (U) Chapter 1, Article 80 of the Turkish Penal Code, as 
amended by Parliament on September 26, 2004, and signed into 
law on October 11, 2004, specifically defines human 
trafficking and prescribes penalties for traffickers and 
their accomplices. Penalties range from eight to twelve years 
of imprisonment (up from five to ten years in earlier 
versions of the law) and, at judicial discretion, an 
additional penalty of up to ten thousand days. Trafficking 
crimes can also be (and have also been) prosecuted under 
statutes of the Law on Combating Benefit-Oriented Criminal 
Organizations, Turkish Citizenship Law, Labor Law, Law on 
Working Permits for Foreigners, and the Law on the Prevention 
of Money Laundering. 
 
Chapter 1, Article 80: Human Trafficking (as amended 
September 26, 2004): 
 
(1) A person who procures or kidnaps persons or who takes or 
transports persons from one place to another or who harbours 
persons with a view to force them to work or to provide a 
service or to subject them to slavery or similar practices or 
to donate their organs by exerting threats, pressure, force 
or violence, by abusing his authority, by deceit or by 
obtaining their consent through taking advantage of the 
opportunities they have to control them or of their 
helplessness shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 
eight to twelve years and to an judicial fine up to ten 
thousand days. 
 
(2) In the event of actions which are undertaken for the 
purposes referred to in the first paragraph and which 
constitute an offence, the consent of the injured party shall 
be deemed void. 
 
(3) Where juveniles under eighteen years of age are procured, 
kidnapped, taken or transported from one place to another or 
harbored for the purposes referred to in the first paragraph, 
the perpetrator shall be sentenced to the penalties referred 
to in the first paragraph, notwithstanding that none of the 
acts instrumental to the offence has been resorted to. 
 
(4) Security measures shall be taken for legal entities on 
account of the above-mentioned crimes. 
 
 
On April 1, 2005, Article 80 replaces the following 
anti-trafficking statues in effect since August 3, 2002: 
 
Turkish Penal Code Article 201(b): 
 
(1) Those who provide, kidnap, take or transfer from one 
place to another and house other individuals with the 
intention of making them work or serve by force, subject them 
to slavery or similar treatment, threaten, pressure, use 
force or coercion to persuade them to give up their bodily 
organs, use undue influence, secure their consent by 
deception or by using the desperation of such individuals 
shall be sentenced to five to ten years of heavy imprisonment 
and a heavy fine of not less than one billion liras. 
 
(2) If the actions that constitute a crime attempted with the 
intentions laid out in the first paragraph exist, the victim 
is assumed not to have given his/her consent. 
 
(3) If the children below the age of eighteen are provided, 
kidnapped, taken or transferred from one place to another or 
housed with the intentions specified in paragraph one, even 
when no intermediary actions relation to the crime are 
committed, the penalties foreseen in paragraph one shall 
still be applied to the perpetrator. 
 
(4) If the crimes listed in the paragraphs above are 
committed in an organized manner, the penalties foreseen for 
the perpetrators shall be doubled." 
 
¶B. (U) The revised Penal Code provides penalties for 
traffickers of eight to twelve years of imprisonment and, at 
judicial discretion, an additional ten thousand days 
imprisonment.  The penalties apply to both traffickers of 
people for sexual exploitation and traffickers of people for 
labor exploitation. 
 
¶C. (U) Chapter 1, Section 6 of the revised Penal Code 
provides varying degrees of penalties for sexual assault, 
rape, and sexual abuse of adults and minors, as noted below. 
Penalties may range from two years to life imprisonment, 
depending upon the circumstances. The new Code excludes 
several controversial articles from the previous law.  For 
example, under the 2004 revisions, rape is considered a crime 
against the individual, rather than a crime against society. 
Under the previous Code rapists could escape punishment by 
marrying their victims, and punishments for rape varied 
depending on the marital status of the victim and whether the 
victim was a virgin. 
 
      Section 6: Offences against Sexual Integrity 
 
      Article 102: Sexual Assault 
 
      (1) The perpetrator who violates the physical integrity 
of another person by means of sexual conduct shall be 
imprisoned for a term of two to seven years upon the 
complaint of the victim. 
 
      (2) Where the act is committed by means of inserting an 
organ or a similar object to the body, the perpetrator shall 
be imprisoned for a term of seven to twelve years.  If the 
act is committed against the spouse, legal investigation and 
prosecution shall be initiated if the victim lodges a 
complaint. 
 
      (3) If the offence is committed, 
      a) Against a person who is physically or mentally 
incapable of defending him/herself, 
      b) By breaching of duties and/or abusing the functions 
pertaining to the official status, 
      c) Against a person of first, second, or third degree 
blood relation or a relative by marriage, 
      d) By using weapons and with the cooperation of more 
than one people, 
 
      penalties imposed in accordance with articles above 
shall be increased by half. 
 
      (4) In case an extra power and violence further than 
necessary to suppress resistance is exerted on the victim 
during the commitment of the offence the perpetrator shall as 
well be punished for deliberate wounding. 
 
      (5) In case the offence results with the distortion of 
the physical or mental health of the victim, the perpetrator 
shall be imprisoned for a term of not less than ten years. 
 
      (6) If as a result of the crime the victim enters in to 
a vegetative state or dies the sentence will be strict life 
time imprisonment. 
 
 
            Article 103: Sexual abuse of children 
 
      (1) the perpetrator of child abuse shall be imprisoned 
for a term of three to eight years.  Sexual abuse means: 
 
      a) any act of a sexual nature against a minor who has 
not completed fifteen years of age or though completed 
fifteen years who lack the competence to perceive the legal 
meaning and consequences of such acts. 
 
      b) sexual acts against other minors depending on use of 
force, threat, deception or any by any other reason affecting 
the will of the child, 
 
      (2) Where the sexual assault occurs as a a result of 
insertion of an organ or a similar object into the body, a 
penalty of imprisonment from eight to fifteen years shall be 
imposed. 
 
      (3) Where the sexual assault is committed by the 
ascendant, second or third degree blood relative, step 
father, the person who has adopted the person concerned, 
guardian, tutor, teacher, caretaker, other persons in charge 
of providing health services or who bear the obligation for 
protection or supervision, or through abuse of the service 
relation, the penalty to be imposed in accordance with the 
above paragraphs shall be increased by half. 
      (4) Where the sexual assault is committed against the 
minors indicated in para 1 (a) as a result of force or 
threat, the penalty to be imposed in accordance with the 
above paragraphs shall be increased by half. 
 
      (5) Where the force and compulsion used with the aim of 
sexual assault lead to aggravated consequences of the offence 
of deliberate wounding, provisions of the offence of 
deliberate wounding shall apply additionally. 
 
      (6) In case the offence results with the distortion of 
the physical or mental health of the victim, the perpetrator 
shall be imprisoned to strict life imprisonment. 
 
      (7) Where the offence leads the victim to enter a 
vegetative state or die, the perpetrator shall be sentenced 
to strict life imprisonment. 
 
¶D. (U) According to figures provided by the MOJ's Judicial 
Records Statistics Bureau, Turkey's Heavy Penal Courts opened 
cases against 140 suspected human traffickers in the first 
three terms of 2004 (statistics for the October-December term 
were not yet available).  During this period, courts reached 
verdicts on twenty-eight cases, sentencing seven suspects to 
imprisonment and fines and acquitting forty-six defendants. 
The remaining cases are ongoing.  The GOT also reported that 
two Romanian traffickers were imprisoned for their parts in 
the cross-border trafficking scheme (para N, this section). 
 
- On February 11, 2004, a criminal court in Yalova, Turkey, 
convicted four of five defendants.  The convictions carried 
fifty-month sentences and fines of 1,325,000,000 Turkish Lira. 
 
- On May 12, 2004, a criminal court in Fethiye, Turkey, 
convicted three defendants.  The convictions carried 
fifty-eight month sentences and fines of 972,221,000 Turkish 
Lira. 
 
¶E. (SBU) Foreign victims trafficked to Turkey are typically 
recruited by small networks of operators who rely on 
referrals and recruitment from friends and family members in 
the source country.  Groups may be as small as four or five 
people.  Trafficking networks operating as tourist agencies 
or firms in source countries bring women to Turkey with 
official work permits.  Most reports indicate that profits 
are channeled into expanding the networks' capacity and 
affluence, by adding computers, automobiles, and amenities 
for traffickers.  Networks tend to deposit proceeds in source 
country bank accounts through Turkish banking system 
transfers.  In the highly publicized Anca case (para N, this 
section), a follow-up police investigation using evidence 
confiscated in a raid in Istanbul led to arrests of the 
trafficking network's financial managers in Romania. 
 
Jandarma and other officials at the MOI repeatedly insist 
trafficking in humans, arms, and narcotics is closely 
connected. 
¶F. (U) Official sources tell us Turkey actively investigates 
cases of trafficking using special investigation techniques, 
including undercover operations, electronic surveillance, and 
mitigated punishment in TIP cases.  Victims resident at the 
Istanbul shelter have also utilized the GOT's humanitarian 
visa program to lead police to traffickers. 
In December 2004, Turkey revised its Code on Criminal 
Procedures to codify TIP-specific surveillance, undercover 
operations, and mitigated punishment for suspects in 
trafficking crimes. The new code now regulates rules on how 
to conduct criminal procedures in TIP investigations as well 
as the rights, powers, and obligations of individuals 
involved in the process. 
 
From the Revised Code on Criminal Procedure: 
 
Detection, monitoring and recording of communication 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
Article 135. 
 
(1) If during a crime investigation, there is strong 
suspicion that a crime has been committed and there are no 
other means of collecting evidence, with the decision of the 
judge or where a delay is detrimental with the decision of 
the public prosecutor, the communications of the suspect or 
the accused may be detected, monitored or recorded by means 
of telecommunications. In such case, the public prosecutor 
shall immediately submit his decision to the judge for 
approval and the judge shall decide on this matter within 
twenty-four hours, at the latest. Upon expiry of this period 
or if the judge denies approval, such measure shall be lifted 
by the public prosecutor immediately. 
 
(2) The suspect's communication with persons who are entitled 
to refrain from acting as a witness shall not be recorded. If 
such a situation is understood after the recording, the 
recorded material shall be destroyed immediately. 
 
(3) In the decision to be taken in accordance with paragraph 
one, the type of the crime attributed, the identity of the 
person for whom such a measure is to be implemented, the type 
of communication means, telephone number or the code that 
allows for the detection of the communication line, the type 
of measure, its scope and duration shall be stated. Such a 
measure can be ruled for three months, at the most; however 
this period can be extended once. 
 
(4) In order to apprehend the suspect or the accused, the 
place of the mobile phone used by the suspect or the accused 
can be detected by a judge's decision and where a delay may 
be detrimental by the public prosecutor's decision. In the 
decision taken for this purpose, the number of the mobile 
phone and the duration of the detection process shall be 
indicated. Detention can be performed for a period of three 
months, at the most; however this period can be extended 
once. 
(5) The decision taken and the actions taken according to the 
provisions of this article shall be kept confidential during 
the period in which such measure is implemented. 
(6) The provisions of this article shall only apply in the 
case of the below listed offences: 
a) In the Turkish Penal Code; 
      (1) Migrants smuggling and trafficking in human beings 
(Articles 79, 80), 
 
(7) Apart from the principles and procedures laid down in 
this Article, no one can monitor or record the communication 
of another person through telecommunications. 
 
Monitoring with technical devices 
--------------------------------- 
 
Article 140. 
 
      (1) If there is strong suspicion that the below listed 
crimes have been committed and there are no other means of 
collecting evidence, the activities and the workplace of the 
suspect or the accused may be monitored in public places, or 
it may be subject to audio-visual recording by means of 
technical devices: 
 
      a) In the Turkish Penal Code; 
 
            (1) Migrants smuggling and trafficking in human 
beings (Articles 79, 80), 
 
            (2) A decision for monitoring by means of 
technical devices may be taken by the judge or where a delay 
is detrimental by the public prosecutor. The decisions taken 
by the public prosecutor shall be submitted to the judge for 
approval within twenty-four hours. 
            (3) A decision for monitoring by means of 
technical devices can be taken for a maximum of four weeks; 
however this period can be extended for once. 
            (4) The evidence obtained cannot be used for 
purposes unrelated to the investigation or the prosecution of 
the crime in question; if in terms of prosecution it is no 
longer needed, then such evidence shall immediately be 
destroyed under the supervision of the public prosecutor. 
 
            (5) The provisions of this article cannot be 
implemented in the dwelling of the person. 
 
 
Mediation 
--------- 
 
Article 253 
 
      (1) In cases where statute permits the procedure of 
mediation, and in accordance with the case investigated, the 
public prosecutor shall summon the offender according to the 
procedures provided for in this Code and shall ask him 
whether he accepts responsibility with regard to the offence 
concerned. 
 
      (2) If the offender confesses to the offence and agrees 
to pay for all or most of the material and non-material 
damage caused by his offence and act or to compensate/make 
good the damage, the victim of the offence or his lawyer or 
legal representative, if any, shall be notified of the fact. 
 
      (3) If the victim of the offence states that he will 
accept a friendly settlement of his own free will if 
reparation is made for all or most of the damage caused, the 
investigation shall be discontinued. 
 
      (4) If the offender and the victim cannot agree upon a 
lawyer, the public prosecutor may ask the Bar Association to 
appoint one or more lawyers as mediators in order to lead the 
mediation procedure between the offender and the victim, to 
bring the parties together and reach a solution. 
 
      (5) The mediator shall finalize the mediation procedure 
in thirty days at the latest as of the day the application is 
made. The public prosecutor may extend this period with 
thirty more days for only once. During the course of the 
mediation process, the statute of limitation shall be 
suspended. 
 
      (6) Mediation negotiations shall be held in secret. The 
information, documents and declarations made during this 
process cannot be revealed later on unless permitted by the 
parties. If the process fails, and a court case is launched 
later, the confessions by the offender about an incident or 
an offence expressed during the mediation process cannot be 
used as evidence against him. 
 
      (7) The mediator shall submit a report to the public 
prosecutor within ten days, setting out the steps he has 
taken and the interventions he has effected in order to 
achieve a settlement. 
 
      (8) The decision not to prosecute shall be given when 
reparation is made for the damage according to the mediation 
agreement and the costs of the mediation process have been 
paid by the offender. 
 
¶G. (SBU) In 2004, 407 police, 123 Jandarma personnel, and 164 
judges received training from a combination of GOT, IOM, 
HRDF, and United Nations High Commission of Refugees training 
partnerships.  The MOI Security Directorate General continued 
to fulfill conditions of the September 2003 protocol signed 
with HRDF, the GOT participated in workshops for law 
enforcement and judicial officials in Istanbul (February 
25-27), in Ankara (March 29-April 1), in Izmir (June 16-18), 
and in Bursa (October 11-13).  A portion of the 600,000 USD 
ESF grant for 2005 will fund similar training scheduled 
throughout the next reporting period. 
Three-day HRDF/IOM/GOT workshops generally include the 
following sixty-minute sessions for Turkish law enforcement 
officers, judges, and prosecutors: 
 
      - The International Legal Definitions of TIP Crimes 
      - TIP Process: Actors, Mechanisms, and Consequences 
      - TIP Process: The Violation of Human Rights 
      - General Command of the Jandarma Presentation 
      - IOM Activities in the Field of Counter Trafficking 
      - Case Studies I 
      - Identification of Trafficked Victims I 
      - Treatment of Trafficked Victims, Best Practices 
      - National Legislation of Turkey 
      - Turkey's Situation in Migrant Smuggling 
      - Treatment of Trafficked Victims, Best Practices 
      - Case Studies II 
      - Treatment of Victims as Witnesses 
      - Investigation Methods and Techniques I 
      - Investigation Methods and Techniques II 
      - Intelligence on Trafficking 
      - Case Studies III 
      - Seminar Evaluation 
      - Movie: Lilya Forever 
 
The MOI initiated an on-the-job training program and seminars 
for 332 Foreigners Department personnel in provincial 
security directorates. 
 
According to Aydogan Asar, TNP Foreigners and Human Movements 
Department Head, classes include the following curriculum 
 
      - The definition of TIP and how it differs from other 
crimes 
      - The Victim: How to spot 
      - The Victim: How to treat 
      - How to differentiate 
      - National legislation 
      - International commitments 
      - Importance of cooperation with NGOs 
      - Case studies 
      - Techniques for interviews 
 
According to Turkish Jandarma Colonel Ferhat Konya, the 
Jandarma has developed and implemented a mobile training unit 
model that involves TDY assignments for personnel with 
special TIP training from Jandarma Headquarters to 
TIP-targeted districts.  TDY officers pass on their training 
(detailed above) to officers stationed locally.  Konya also 
noted that Jandarma officers receive additional four-day 
training that includes topics on: 
 
      - How to treat victims as witnesses 
      - How to cooperate with NGOs and other agencies 
      - Investigation techniques from experts from Europol, 
Scotland Yard 
      - Victims' sensitivities UNHCR/IOM 
      - Human trafficking victims among refugees 
In April 2005, IOM will train this years' graduating class of 
Jandarma academy students (1500 students). 
 
¶H. (SBU) See para I, Overview Section.  Partner governments 
and source country NGOs reported that the implementation of 
general bilateral law enforcement agreements remains 
inconsistent, though media reports documented several 
successful anti-trafficking police operations with some 
source countries.  Despite the general bilateral law 
enforcement agreements, the GOT maintains and Post agrees 
that source countries should adopt the specific anti-TIP 
protocol proposed by the GOT (see para I, Overview Section). 
In addition to Ukraine, Turkey submitted on multiple 
occasions versions of the following draft protocol to 
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, 
Russia, and Uzbekistan.  Only Belarus adopted the protocol. 
 
BEGIN TEXT OF DRAFT PROTOCOL: 
 
DRAFT 
 
Protocol Between the Governments of the Republic of Turkey 
and Ukraine on the Implementation of the First Article of The 
Cooperation Agreement Against Crime 
 
Pursuant to Article 1 of the "Cooperation Agreement Against 
Crime between the Governments of the Republic of Turkey and 
Ukraine", the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the 
Government of Ukraine hereinafter referred as "Parties"; 
 
Deeply concerned by the fact that trafficking in human 
beings, which constitutes one of the transnational organized 
crimes and is spread out every other day in the world and in 
our region, provides huge profits to organized crime networks 
and is also related to narcotics and arms trafficking, as 
well as smuggling of migrants; 
 
Realizing that trafficking in human beings can be coped with, 
through timely and effective international cooperation; 
 
Emphasizing the importance of providing judicial, 
humanitarian, psychological and medical assistance to victims 
of trafficking in human beings, facilitating their return to 
their countries and assuring their reintegration and taking 
the necessary measures in arresting the perpetrators and 
creating public awareness; 
 
Recognizing the importance of the efforts in stopping the 
trafficking in human beings by bringing to light the crime 
networks; 
 
Stressing the need to strengthen the cooperation and 
coordination between the Republic of Turkey and Ukraine in 
combating trafficking in human beings; 
 
Have agreed to promote measures in accordance with their 
respective national legislation and procedures, with a view 
to: 
 
¶1. Completing the necessary national legal infrastructure in 
the field of trafficking in human beings and taking the other 
necessary administrative and institutional measures; 
¶2. Establishing a regional network between the 
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) in the countries which 
face this problem; 
¶3. Supporting the victims of trafficking in human beings, 
following the establishment of the conditions by the Parties 
in the framework of humanitarian, psychological and medical 
care; 
 
¶4. Ensuring the victims to testify in the framework of the 
national legal systems of the Parties, in order to arrest the 
perpetrators and protect these victims; 
 
¶5. Creating public awareness and awareness in the relevant 
institutions on trafficking in human beings; 
 
¶6. Creating awareness in their respective countries among the 
persons traveling abroad who might be subject to trafficking 
in human beings; 
 
¶7. Designating points of contact in their respective 
countries where information on victims of trafficking in 
human beings will be collected and which will coordinate the 
issue of trafficking in human beings and sharing the 
collected information with the other Party; 
 
¶8. Training of law enforcement agents in combating 
trafficking in human beings, organizing joint training 
programmes, exchanging experts of each country and increasing 
cooperation opportunities; 
 
¶9. Providing cooperation between the scientific and academic 
institutions, exchanging experts of each country in order to 
share experience and knowledge; 
 
¶10. Tasking the competent authorities in the two countries 
with the implementation of this Protocol. 
 
This Protocol shall enter into force upon notification in 
writing by both Parties to each other that they have 
completed their national procedures. 
 
Each Party may propose amendments to the present Protocol, 
Amendments shall enter into force upon their acceptance by 
all parties in accordance with the provisions of the above 
mentioned paragraph. 
 
Each Party may give notice to withdrawal from the Protocol by 
written notification to the other Party. 
 
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized 
thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this 
Protocol. 
 
Done at .........., this.......... 
 
Signed for the Government of the Republic of Turkey 
Signed for the Government of Ukraine 
 
¶I. (SBU) We have no information regarding the extradition of 
persons charged with trafficking from other countries or 
whether the government allows the extradition of its own 
nationals, if any, charged with such offenses. 
 
¶J. (SBU) We do not have evidence of official involvement in 
or tolerance of trafficking at higher levels. Contacts state 
there is some tolerance of foreign prostitution as long as it 
is kept within certain limits. 
 
¶K. (SBU) We do not have evidence of GOT involvement in 
trafficking. 
 
¶L. (SBU) We do not have evidence that Turkey is a source or 
destination country for child sex tourism. 
 
¶M. (U) Turkey adopted the following conventions: 
 
- ILO Convention 182 (Ratified early 2001). 
 
- ILO Convention 29 and 105 on Forced or Compulsory Labor 
(ILO Convention 29 went into effect on January 27, 1998 and 
ILO Convention 105 on December 21, 1960). 
 
- Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child 
Pornography (Ratified May 9, 2002). 
 
- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking-in-Persons, especially Women and Children, 
Supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational 
Organized Crime (Signed December 2000; Ratified January 31, 
2003 and implemented February 4, 2003). 
 
¶N. (SBU) G/TIP requested specific examples of TIP cases in 
Turkey.  Post provides the following GOT, NGO, and press 
accounts collected after a TNP raid in Istanbul: 
 
NEWS MEDIA: Versions of the following June 15, 2004 article 
published in Hurriyet Newspaper (page 5) were also published 
in editions of Aksam, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet, Vakit, Vatan, and 
Zaman.  The Turkish language articles appeared as half-page 
or full-page spreads, including photos of alleged traffickers: 
 
TITLE: Anca's Notebook Burns Celebrities 
 
BEGIN UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF TEXT: A Romanian-Turkish 
joint police operation against a gang forcing women into 
prostitution resulted in the detention of two people, Anton 
Chelaru Gica and Relu Rotaru, important names in 
international human trafficking.  The two sent Romanian women 
to Turkey with the promise of finding jobs but instead forced 
them into prostitution. 
 
The arrests came after Romanian police contacted Turkish 
police with information about the operation.  Istanbul police 
raided Flash Hotel at Tarlabasi district of Istanbul on May 
31 and rescued 5 Romanian women ages 17 to 20.  In the 
operation, Anca Carpusco, the Istanbul leg of the network was 
also captured. Testimonies by the women also led police to 
bus driver Fevzi Yesil and driver Cemal Izgi.  Police believe 
Martinas Andrea Romona and Anca Carpusco controlled the 
financial portion of the network.  Romona and Carpusco 
reportedly transferred USD 200,000 from their bank account in 
Istanbul to Anton Chelaru Gica and Relu Rotaru in Romania. 
 
Acting upon the testimonies of the girls, including 
17-year-old Daniele Ostaci, who is 7 months pregnant, and a 
notebook kept by Anca Carpusco, 11 people were detained on 
charges of "having intercourse with minors."  Turkish Rock 
Star 'Akin' was among the detainees.  They were then released 
after being interrogated by a prosecutor in Beyoglu, Istanbul. 
 
Follow-up: Corpusco kept 9 notebooks filled with information 
about the organization's customers.  She kept very detailed 
logbooks that included customers' license plate numbers, home 
and cellular phone numbers, references, and particular sexual 
preferences.  The names of the customers who gave fake money 
and used force were marked with red ink.  Names of thousands 
of people including famous soccer players, actors and famous 
businessmen were in the books.  Also there was information 
about policemen.  Plate numbers of police teams patrolling 
the district were also noted. 
 
Pop Star 'Akin', who was detained briefly, said, "They showed 
me pictures of some women.  I told them that I do not know 
any of them.  Maybe we happened to be at the same venues, but 
I was not with any of them.  In a notebook of one of the 
women my name was written.  Maybe it was because I am famous. 
 The most interesting thing was, when we were taken for a 
health check-up, everyone covered their faces.  As a reflex, 
I also covered my face.  There were lots of journalists. 
After interrogation, I was released." END TEXT. 
 
In a follow-on story published June 17, 2004, Turkey's 
Hurriyet News carried victim Daniele Ostaci's statement. 
HRDF Executive Director Demet Gural confirmed the statement 
is accurate based on her personal interview. 
 
BEGIN UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF TEXT: "Last year in August my 
father died.  My mother was an alcoholic.  In a short time 
she started living with another man.  I was in 9th grade 
then.  She kicked me out of the house, so I started staying 
with a friend.  We went to a disco, where I met a man named 
Relu.  He told me that he would find a job for me in Istanbul 
as a baby sitter or house cleaner.  He told me that I would 
earn good money.  I stayed at his home that night, and then 
went to Piatra Neamt.  He introduced me to Anton Chelaru 
Gica, who we knew as Alex.  He gave me $100 in advance and 
placed $300 in my bank account but told me not to spend it. 
On October 2, 2003 a man working for Gica took me to a Turk 
named Fevzi Yesil.  I came to Istanbul together with other 
girls on a bus owned by Yesil.  A taxi driver named Cemal 
Izgi met us and took us to a hotel in Taksim.  Anca Carpusco, 
who runs the finances for the network, met us there. 
 
Anca destroyed my passport, identity card and personal 
documents.  She told me that I would work for them.  She took 
all my money as well.  Then they issued fake passports and 
IDs for us.  She made me memorize a telephone number.  In the 
event of any problems she told me to call this number.  She 
also said that they would kill me if I said anything to the 
police if I was captured. 
 
Cemal Izgi delivered us to the customers.  Upon Anca's 
instruction, we took notes about the customers, demands and 
preferences.  In 8 months, I had intercourse with about 200 
people." END TEXT. 
 
HRDF:  On June 16, 2004, HRDF Executive Director Demet Gural 
provided the following information about the case: "We 
contacted and interviewed these women at the police guest 
house in Istanbul last Friday (June 11) and Sunday (June 13) 
with our psychotherapist.  We were informed about them by the 
Istanbul Foreigners Department on June 9.  The victims were 
given medical exams at Haseki hospital.  The minor mentioned 
in Hurriyet was diagnosed as 7 weeks pregnant.  After our 
initial interview, we decided to meet again in a private 
setting to talk with them through an interpreter.  The 
stories are desperate as you can imagine.  We prepared a 
report about their situation and shared it with IOM.  This 
afternoon, through IOM support they are going back to Romania 
as voluntary returnees." 
 
IOM: On June 18, 2004, IOM Acting Chief of Mission Meltem 
Ersoy confirmed the repatriations: "Dear Mr. McFarland, Six 
victims of trafficking were assisted to return home 
voluntarily by IOM Turkey.  They were met and assisted by IOM 
Bucharest upon arrival.  They will be included in IOM 
reintegration programs.  Due to their ages and the type of 
exploitation, they will also receive physical and 
psychological assistance from IOM." 
 
GOT: In a letter dated June 28, 2004, Mehmet Terzioglu, TNP 
Department Head for Foreigners, Borders, and Asylum, provided 
the following case specifics: 
 
BEGIN UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF TERZIOGLU LETTER: 
 
DG Turkish National Police 
Department for Foreigners, Borders, and Asylum 
Ilkadim Caddesi 
A.Ayranci 
 
Department Head,Mehmet Terzioglu 
Tel: 412 3219, Fax: 466-9011 
illegalmig@egm.gov.tr 
 
June 28, 2004 
Dear Mr. McFarland: 
 
The following is information you requested about the 
operation conducted against traffickers in Istanbul in 
cooperation with the Romanian police and about the Romanian 
citizen victims rescued in the operation: 
 
During preliminary meetings held in Bucharest May 14-18, 
2004, through SECI, our delegation learned from our Romanian 
counterparts information to the effect that Romanian origin 
women were being forced into prostitution in an Istanbul 
hotel named Flash.  Within the framework of Operation Mirage 
2004 conducted in cooperation with the Romanian police, we 
found seven Romanian national women kept by force in the 
above mentioned hotel.  From the interviews, we understood 
that they were victims of trafficking.  They were put under 
protection and psychological support was provided. 
 
The victims said that they were deceived by Romanian 
nationals known as Gigi and Relu with the promise that they 
would find jobs in Turkey.  Upon this information, we 
contacted our Romanian police counterparts, who apprehended 
traffickers named Anton Chelaru Gica and Gheorghe Relu 
Rotari.  Photographs of the suspects we requested were 
emailed to us by our counterparts.  The victims identified 
the suspects from the photographs. 
 
Financial documents we recovered from the hotel and people 
connected to the traffickers revealed that the network 
transferred 182,450 USD to people in Romania. 
 
The judicial process was initiated against Turkish citizens 
named Fevzi Yesil and Cemal Izgi as well as Romanian citizen 
Anca Carpusca.  For their connections to the network, they 
were put in prison after being arrested. 
 
Following the operation, we provided for the needs of the 
Romanian victims in Istanbul.  They were told they can stay 
in our country and that each may be given a residence permit, 
but as they declared that they would like to go back to their 
country, contact was established with IOM Ankara for their 
safe return.  With arrangements made by this office, they 
were sent to Romania via airlines on June 16, 2004. 
 
The investigation concerning the people who are behind the 
scenes and might be connected with the incident still 
continues.  END TEXT. 
EDELMAN