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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 17 ANKARA 006318 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, October 1- 
15, 2005 
 
¶1. In response to G/TIP inquiries, national and 
  international media sources published the following news 
  articles about TIP in Turkey.  Text of articles 
  originally published in Turkish is provided through 
  unofficial local FSN translation. 
 
¶2.  Published by Guardian Unlimited on Saturday, October 1: 
 
     TITLE:  Police free sex trade women in raid on massage 
     parlor 
 
     Officers believe 19 were being held against will. 
     Ministers urged to step up help for trafficking victims 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Nineteen women from 10 countries, believed 
     to have been tricked into working in the sex trade, 
     were under police protection yesterday after a raid on 
     a massage parlor.  Detectives think the women may have 
     been held against their will behind locked doors and an 
     electric fence at premises in Birmingham. 
 
     The women - from East Europe, Italy, Turkey and East 
     Asia - are thought to have been duped into coming to 
     Britain with offers of jobs as nannies or waitresses. 
 
     Police say that, once here, they were held at a house 
     by day and taken to the Cuddles massage parlor on 
     Hagley Road, near central Birmingham, each evening. 
     Some may have had their passports confiscated, making 
     it even harder to escape. 
 
     Interpreters were helping officers interview them 
     yesterday.  Police said the women were being treated as 
     victims, not offenders, and were not under arrest. 
 
     Human rights groups welcomed the police action, but 
     said Britain was not doing enough for the welfare of 
     victims of human traffickers.  Campaigners want the 
     government to sign up to a new European convention on 
     the protection of such people, but ministers are 
     resisting doing so. 
 
     The raid on Cuddles followed two months of surveillance 
     as part of Operation Strikeout by West Midlands police, 
     targeting violent crime. 
 
     Shortly after 8pm on Thursday, two male officers rang 
     the bell at Cuddles, posing as clients.  As the door 
     opened, 25 female officers leapt off a bus and piled 
     into the building.  Two men and a woman from the West 
     Midlands were arrested on suspicion of being "concerned 
     with the management of running a brothel."  Two other 
     men, thought to be clients, were later released. 
     Police say they found a sawn-off shotgun, batons and 
     condoms. 
 
     Cuddles has about 12 rooms.  There is an electric fence 
     at the back of the building and some of the windows are 
     boarded. 
 
     Det Insp Mark Nevitt said:  "We went to the property to 
     execute a warrant in human trafficking.  Intelligence 
     suggests the girls were brought into the country under 
     false pretenses, sold on and held against their will in 
     the massage parlor. 
 
     "These girls could be subject to violence, sexual 
     assaults and forced to work as prostitutes.  When they 
     arrived in this country, they would have been told not 
     to trust the police, so interviewing them will be a 
     delicate process." 
 
     Amnesty International said victims of trafficking did 
     not receive the protection they needed.  A spokeswoman, 
     Sarah Green, said:  "Most are deported without any care 
     or support or assessment of the risks they face if sent 
     back.  Communities might not want these women back if 
     they know what has happened to them, and there is 
     evidence of people being re-trafficked.  If you deport 
     them very quickly and arbitrarily, you are simply 
     throwing them back into the fire." 
 
     Amnesty is calling on the government to sign up to the 
     new European convention on action against trafficking 
     in human beings, which gives victims the right to 
     emergency housing and medical care and a temporary 
     resident permit in the country they have been taken to. 
 
     The government is resisting because it feels the 
     convention may be open to abuse by people with no right 
     to stay in Britain. 
 
     More than 200 children have been rescued from 
     prostitution in the past five years on Merseyside, the 
     children's charity, Barnardo's, said yesterday.  END 
     TEXT. 
¶3.  Published by The Telegraph on Saturday, October 1: 
 
     TITLE:  Sex slaves freed as police smash human 
     trafficking operation 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Police have smashed a major human 
     trafficking ring after freeing 19 women who were being 
     held captive and forced to work as prostitutes in the 
     West Midlands. 
 
     A special task force raided the Cuddles massage parlor 
     in Birmingham and released women who came from a number 
     of countries across Europe and beyond. 
 
     Four people, a 40-year-old woman and three men, 
     suspected of being part of the management, were 
     arrested and were last night being questioned. 
 
     A team of 50 officers - half of them female - were 
     involved in the swoop on Wednesday night.  It is 
     thought that the women were tricked into coming to 
     Britain, had their passports taken away and were locked 
     in the grimy massage parlor at night to work. 
 
     During the day they are believed to have been locked in 
     a nearby house and made to stay there until their 
     evening work began. 
 
     Police also found a sawn-off shotgun and four 
     telescopic batons.  Windows were boarded up to stop the 
     women from escaping and electric fences are also said 
     to have been erected at the rear of the building. 
 
     Det Insp Mark Nevitt, of West Midlands Police, said: 
     "We went to the property to execute a warrant in human 
     trafficking and intelligence suggests the girls were 
     brought into the country under false pretences, sold on 
     and held against their will in the massage parlor. 
 
     "These girls could be subject to violence, sexual 
     assaults and forced to work as prostitutes in the 
     premises." 
 
     He said the 19 women present were "obviously very 
     distressed" and added:  "When they arrived in this 
     country the girls would have been told not to trust the 
     police so interviewing them will be a delicate process. 
 
     "Immigration has been informed but it is too early to 
     establish whether any of the girls were in this country 
     illegally." 
 
     The women come from Greece, Turkey, Poland, Latvia, 
     Italy, Japan and Hong Kong. 
 
     The month-long investigation is part of West Midlands 
     Police's Operation Strikeout, which is targeting 
     violent crime and robbery in the force area.  A former 
     visitor to the premises said:  "The women were 
     obviously very polite but you could tell they were very 
     cagey and frightened of their bosses." 
 
     Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty International UK, 
     urged the Government to sign up to the new European 
     Convention Against Trafficking. 
 
     She said, "Amnesty welcomes the West Midlands police 
     crackdown on traffickers and their vicious trade in 
     women who are held prisoner and forced to work as 
     prostitutes. 
 
     "But the UK needs to protect the victims of this brutal 
     industry as well as catching the traffickers. 
 
     "We must turn the system around so that they are 
     recognized as the victims and not the perpetrators of 
     crime.  The UK Government must sign up to the new 
     European Convention." 
 
     Details of such activities in Birmingham came to light 
     in February when a gangster was jailed for 11 years at 
     Southwark Crown Court. 
     Vullnet Ismailaj, 27, led a prostitution empire that 
     trafficked eastern European women into Britain, netting 
     him 300,000 pounds Sterling. 
 
     The following month, an Albanian immigrant, Xhevahir 
     Pisha, 21, was jailed for seven years by Sheffield 
     Crown Court along with two other men for their part in 
     forcing a teenage girl into prostitution.  The 15-year- 
     old Lithuanian girl was forced to work in a brothel in 
     Birmingham two days after arriving in Britain when a 
     man paid 4,000 pounds Sterling for her.  She was 
     imprisoned in Pisha's house in Coventry. 
 
     According to Home Office estimates, up to 1,420 women 
     were trafficked into Britain in 2000.  END TEXT. 
 
¶4.  Published by Hurriyet on Friday, October 1: 
 
     TITLE:  Turkish Sex Slaves in Britain 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  It was reported that there were women from 
     Turkey among the 19 prostitutes saved during a 
     crackdown on a brothel in Birmingham, England. 
 
     The police announced that the women were forced to 
     serve as sex slaves and were made to work at a massage 
     parlor against their will.  The names of the Turkish 
     women captured at the brothel were not available. 
 
     During an operation on a massage parlor, where mostly 
     eastern European women were kept by force, three 
     people, including one woman, were arrested. 
 
     It was discovered that on the back of the brothel, 
     which looked like a prison, there were electric bars. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶5.  Published by Bugun on Saturday, October 1: 
 
     TITLE:  Sex Slaves 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Elina Siderova has been giving a fierce 
     struggle for nine months for saving the women forced 
     into prostitution by gangs.  IOM's Turkey Secretary 
     Siderova stressed that this human tragedy could be 
     prevented only with support from the women. 
 
     Siderova noted that until now they managed to save 159 
     women from the houses they were locked into in Turkey 
     through the 157 hotline they established. 
 
     She noted that their Turkish clients informed (security 
     officials) about the women who were forced into 
     prostitution.  She said, "Those women who refuse to 
     have sex are burned with hot oil or cigarettes are put 
     out in their eyes."  END TEXT. 
 
¶6.  Published by The Peninsula, Qatar's Leading English 
Daily, on Sunday, October 2: 
 
     TITLE:  Three appear in court over trafficking 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Three people appeared in a British court 
     yesterday accused of running a brothel in which 19 
     foreign women, largely from Eastern Europe and Asia, 
     were found during a police raid. 
 
     Carl Pritchett, 52, Nathan Langston, 22, and Susan 
     Richards, 50, are also charged with possessing a 
     firearm which was found at the massage parlor in 
     Birmingham, central England. 
 
     The three were arrested after a squad of mostly female 
     police officers stormed the Cuddles sauna on Thursday 
     night. 
 
     Nineteen foreign women - from Slovakia, Poland, Turkey, 
     Italy, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong - were escorted 
     from the building after the raid. 
     A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said six of the 
     women were being dealt with the Immigration Service. 
     The rest have been released without charge. 
 
     At the half-hour hearing at Warley Magistrates' Court, 
     the defendants spoke only to confirm their names, ages 
     and addresses. 
 
     Pritchett is also accused of possessing an offensive 
     weapon.  He was remanded into custody after being 
     refused an application for bail.  Richards and Langston 
     were both granted unconditional bail. 
 
     All will return to the magistrates' court next Friday, 
     October 7. 
 
     Meanwhile British police and immigration officials 
     yesterday were offering support to the women. 
 
     A force spokesman confirmed that seven of the women 
     "rescued" from the Cuddles parlor were being 
     interviewed by immigration officers.  Twelve others are 
     still at police stations while they are found 
     accommodation. 
 
     The women are thought to have been tricked into 
     becoming "sex slaves." 
 
     "They had their passports taken," the police spokesman 
     said. 
 
     "They were locked into the venue during the evening to 
     work and taken away during the day and locked in a 
     house," she said. 
 
     Amnesty International welcomed the raid but called on 
     the government to do more to protect victims of 
     trafficking. 
 
     Spokeswoman Sarah Green said there was no protection in 
     law for victims of trafficking who were normally 
     classed as illegal immigrants and deported. 
 
     "Most are deported without any care or support or 
     assessment of the risks they face if sent back," she 
     said. 
 
     "Communities might not want these women back if they 
     know what has happened to them and there is evidence of 
     people being re-trafficked. 
 
     "If you deport them very quickly and arbitrarily, you 
     are simply throwing them back into the fire." 
 
     Green also appealed to the government to sign up to the 
     Council of European Convention on Action against 
     Trafficking in Human Beings, which she said gives 
     victims the right to emergency housing and medical care 
     and a temporary residence permit in the country they 
     find themselves in. 
 
     "There is no reason why Britain should not sign up," 
     she said.  "These people are victims of a series of 
     vicious human rights violations and should be protected 
     in law." 
 
     Meanwhile, a 50-year-old woman from Brierley Hill, West 
     Midlands, a 50-year-old man from Stourbridge, and a 22- 
     year-old man from Wolverhampton are being held on 
     suspicion of being concerned in the management of a 
     brothel. 
 
     A sawn-off shotgun and 7,000 pounds Sterling ($12,000) 
     in cash were also recovered during the operation and a 
     vehicle was seized.  END TEXT. 
 
¶7.  Published by Cumhuriyet on Monday, October 3: 
     TITLE:  REASON FOR IMMIGRATION: GLOBALIZATION 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Prof. Metin Kutal, Department Head of 
     International Relations at the Kadir Has University, 
     said that economic and political instability in 
     countries played a major role in fueling the Mafia that 
     is involved in (illegal) immigration.  He noted that 
     unless these economic and political problems were 
     resolved, the problem would deepen and added, "The 
     globalization has deepened the abyss between the 
     developing and developed countries." 
 
     Kutal said that immigrants prefer to go to developed 
     countries mostly because these countries represent 
     freedom and economic welfare.  He emphasized that 
     measures should be taken at global level against the 
     "immigration Mafia." 
 
     He stressed that Turkey could not struggle against this 
     problem by itself and added, "Turkey, because of its 
     location, has been the focus of the immigration Mafia. 
     This has created a picture against Turkey on the 
     international arena.  It brings along many legal and 
     political problems." 
 
     Kutan said that among the measures taken an effective 
     control mechanism was key and noted, "Entries and exits 
     must be under control.  This type of smuggling does not 
     contribute to the economy.  It fuels further the 
     unregistered economy.  As sources increase, the Mafia 
     will get stronger in a fashion that it would be 
     untouchable." 
 
     HUMAN TRAFFICKERS IN ACTION 
 
     Despite all efforts and operations, almost the entire 
     human trafficking from Central Asia, Middle East and 
     Africa to Europe has been going through Turkey. 
 
     According to a recent report by the Smuggling and Fight 
     against Organized Crime Department, Mafia groups 
     organized at the international level were involved in 
     human trafficking.  The security forces were mobilized 
     when the U.S. brought on the agenda some sanctions, 
     including an embargo, for (Turkey) not to work enough 
     to prevent human trafficking. 
 
     Upon a proposal by the MFA, a Task Force was 
     established with the participation of the TNP, Jandarma 
     the Coast Guard and the MIT.  As a result of the work 
     of this Force, some operations were conducted.  Upon 
     this development, the U.S. put Turkey in Tier Two, 
     among countries that take measures against human 
     trafficking.  But none of this prevented Turkey from 
     being used as a transit country in human trafficking. 
 
     There are around one million immigrants in Turkey 
     waiting to go to the West.  Last year 61,228 immigrants 
     were captured.  It is estimated that the same year 
     those who managed to end up in the West through Turkey 
     was at least ten times this figure. 
 
     In the last activity report by the Smuggling 
     Department, human trafficking was tackled in length. 
     According to the report entitled, "Immigrant Smuggling 
     and Human Trafficking," organizers are using Turkey as 
     a transit country in order to take immigrants from 
     Central Asia, Middle East and Africa to European 
     countries. 
 
     The report stressed that in recent years Turkey also 
     turned into a destination country.  Many immigrants 
     from the Middle East and Africa reportedly come to 
     Turkey to live here. 
 
     An immigrant from Iraq or Afghanistan has to travel 
     thousands of kilometers and pass through dozens of 
     countries in order to reach Western Europe.  If he 
     manages to pass through these borders without being 
     detected, he finds himself in the back streets of 
     Paris, in the shanty town of London and in the ethnic 
     ghettos of Germany.  It is not possible for an 
     individual immigrant who is not happy with his life in 
     his country to do this on his own.  So he goes to the 
     Mafia.  He pays between 3-7 (thousand) Euros to the 
     Mafia that is involved in human trafficking depending 
     on the country he is going or the itinerary he will 
     use.  The annual income of the Mafia involved in human 
     trafficking is up to $8 billion.  Since it is very 
     profitable, the Mafia, involved in drug and arms 
     trafficking, also got involved in human trafficking. 
 
     According to the report of the Smuggling Department, 
     the most important characteristic of the Mafia that is 
     involved in human trafficking is that they are 
     organized at international level.  There are Turks 
     among the influential people in the Mafia. 
     SECURITY FORCES DO NOT SIT STILL 
 
     The Smuggling Department conducted many operations last 
     year against human trafficking.  Some important 
     operations included: 
 
     - Yayla Operation: It was conducted on April 25, 2004, 
     in Ankara, Istanbul, Hatay, Canakkale and Agri.  In 
     that operation 30 immigrants, mostly Chinese, were 
     captured and 117 fake passports were seized.  It was 
     learned that Chinese immigrants first were brought by 
     plane to Jordan and from there were taken to Syria. 
     Later they entered Turkey through Hatay.  Traffickers 
     were planning to take the immigrants through Romania 
     and Greece to Western European countries. 
 
     - Sea Project Operation: 
     This operation was conducted jointly with Britain.  In 
     Kocaeli and Istanbul 60 immigrants, including 57 
     Iraqis, two Egyptians and 11 Uzbekis were captured. 
     During the operation 10 organizers were arrested. 
 
     - Alaca Operation: 
     It was conducted at the same time in Istanbul, Aydin 
     and Edirne on December 25, 2004.  In the operation 108 
     immigrants were captured and 30 organizers were 
     detained.  Four of the gang members were Greek.  During 
     searches at their residences, security forces found a 
     10-meter speed boat used in human trafficking, one 
     Kalashnikov, 110 bullets and three unregistered 
     pistols.  END TEXT. 
 
     Two Pakistani illegal immigrants who were treated in 
     the Emergency ward of the hospital were sent to the 
     Infectious Disease Department and were put under 
     quarantine. 
 
¶8.  Reported by Anadolu Ajansi on Tuesday, October 4: 
 
     TITLE:  Antalya Prostitution Operation - Four suspects, 
     including a woman, who were involved in human 
     trafficking and encouraging prostitution and ten 
     foreign women who are allegedly involved in 
     prostitution were captured. 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Four suspects, including a woman, who were 
     allegedly involved in human trafficking and encouraging 
     prostitution and ten foreign women who were allegedly 
     involved in prostitution were captured in Antalya. 
 
     The Antalya Public Order Police Morals Department made 
     an announcement and noted that after receiving a tip, 
     they carried out an operation and captured G.T., who 
     was involved in human trafficking and mediating for 
     prostitution.  Others captured were M.A., her son and 
     the owner of the hotel, L.E. and M.V.  Ten women, 
     including six Moldovans and four Uzbeks, who were 
     involved in prostitution, too, were captured. 
 
     On their testimony at the Public Order department, 
     police discovered that three of the foreign women, O.C. 
     (18), O.K. (19) and L.C. (37) were brought for $3,000 
     each from an unidentified woman for the purpose of 
     using them as prostitutes. 
 
     It was reported that suspect G.T. was earlier charged 
     12 times for mediating prostitution and two times for 
     serving as a prostitute.  END TEXT. 
 
¶9.  Published by Kuwait News Agency on Wednesday, October 5: 
 
     TITLE:  Tracking Trafficking from Ankara throughout the 
     Black Sea Region 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  The International Organization for 
     Migration (IOM) announced Tuesday that a new initiative 
     to track trafficking throughout the twelve nations of 
     the Black Sea Region will be launched from Ankara 
     today.  IOM spokesperson Jean-Philippe Chauzy told 
     reporters that this was a major step forward in 
     Turkey's efforts to combat trafficking in cooperation 
     with its neighboring states in the CIS and the European 
     Union.  He added that the project aims to create a 
     regional information hub in Turkey for trafficking 
     information and trends, including emerging trafficking 
     hot spots, economic and social conditions and 
     prosecution rates in the Black Sea Region.  According 
     to Chauzy, Turkey is a major destination country for 
     trafficked individuals throughout the nations bordering 
     the Black Sea.  So far this year, IOM has assisted 163 
     victims return to their home countries, including 51 to 
     Ukraine and 43 to Moldova.  The project announced today 
     is designed to work in coordination with Turkey and the 
     11 other member states of the Black Sea Economic 
     Cooperation (BSEC), from Greece to Turkey's West, 
     Russia to the North and Georgia to its West.  The 
     project is designed to complement on-going campaigns to 
     combat human trafficking, which include increased 
     public awareness activities, stepped up training for 
     law enforcement and medical, psychological and direct 
     assistance to victims of trafficking.  END TEXT. 
 
¶10.  Published by Cumhuriyet on Thursday, October 6: 
 
     TITLE:  Cut-off nose trial delayed 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  The Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court Number 3 
     continued the case of R.G., whose nose was cut off and 
     thrown on the street after being raped when she refused 
     to abide by her husband's family wish to serve as a 
     prostitute. 
 
     Her husband was in prison then. 
 
     Feyyat Gezginci, Turan Gezginci, who are under arrest, 
     and Ekrem Gezginci and M.G., who are on trial on 
     release, appeared at the session on October 5. 
 
     R.G.'s lawyer asked the court to arrest the two 
     suspects who were released at the first court session. 
     Meanwhile, the lawyer of the suspects requested the 
     release of his clients. 
 
     The chief judge rejected the requests and adjourned the 
     next session to complete the missing points in the 
     file.  END TEXT. 
 
¶11.  Reported by Radikal on Thursday, October 6: 
 
     TITLE:  R.G. with a cut-off nose:  I was forced into 
     prostitution 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  R.G. (15), who was forced to marry the man 
     who raped her when she was 12, did not attend the trial 
     of her three brothers-in-law and her father-in-law. 
 
     Three years ago, R.G. was raped by her neighbor 
     Sabahattin Gezginci.  When she found out she was 
     pregnant, she told her parents what had happened to 
     her.  She was forced to marry her rapist in a religious 
     ceremony. 
 
     Gezginci was arrested and put in prison in 2003 for 
     raping a 7-year-old boy. 
 
     R.G. moved in with her in-laws.  The family cut her 
     nose on March 11, 2005 as punishment for going out on 
     the streets too many times.  Upon her complaint, her 
     three brothers-in-law and father-in-law were arrested. 
     They are charged with forcibly keeping and cutting the 
     nose of a minor.  The prosecutor demanded 15-year 
     sentences for each. 
     The Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Court Number 3 on October 5, 
     2005 continued the case.  In the previous session, the 
     court released two of the four suspects, Feyyat and 
     Turan Gezginci. 
 
     The two also attended the session on October 5.  Feyyat 
     Gezginci took all the blame.  He said, "When my brother 
     entered prison, she (R.G.) was going to her own 
     parents' house against our will.  She was going in the 
     early morning and coming back late in the evening.  I 
     followed her for three days and noticed that she was 
     speaking to four men.  When she claimed that I did not 
     have a say, I slapped her and cut her nose." 
 
     R.G. testified without appearing in court because of 
     security concerns.  She said, "When I was asleep they 
     tried to tie me up and rape me.  They claimed that I 
     was serving as a prostitute and to teach me a lesson 
     they would cut my nose.  They were forcing me into 
     prostitution.  When they cut my nose, there was a lot 
     of bleeding.  To stop the bleeding, the boiled barley 
     and wheat and applied it to my nose." 
 
     The session was adjourned and the court asked for a 
     report.  END TEXT. 
 
¶12.  Reported by Anadolu Ajansi on Friday, October 7: 
 
     TITLE:  Interior Minister Aksu due to Greece 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu 
     will leave for Greece to attend a meeting on illegal 
     migration and human trafficking. 
 
     The Interior Ministry stated on Friday that the meeting 
     will be held with the participation of Turkey, 
     Pakistan, Iran and Greece between October 10th and 
     11th.  END TEXT. 
 
¶13.  Published by The Guardian on Monday, October 10 
 
     TITLE:  European mission unearths torture claims in 
     Turkey 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Reports follow launch of EU membership 
     talks.  Ankara dismisses findings as "silly stories." 
 
     A European parliament delegation visiting Turkey to 
     check on its progress in human rights has found 
     "shocking" reports of murders and mutilations, a 
     British MEP said yesterday.  The findings, which come a 
     week after Brussels launched membership talks with 
     Turkey, highlight the scale of progress the 
     predominantly Muslim country needs to make in its quest 
     to join the European Union. 
 
     Richard Howitt, part of the mission by the parliament's 
     seven-member human rights subcommittee, told the 
     Guardian:  "What we heard was shocking.  There were 
     accounts of soldiers cutting off people's ears and 
     tearing out their eyes if they were thought to be 
     Kurdish separatist sympathizers . You cannot hear these 
     things without being emotionally affected." 
 
     The MEP, Labour's European foreign affairs spokesman 
     and a champion of Turkey's EU accession, said the 
     abuses had been corroborated by human rights 
     organizations.  A trip by the group to Turkey's Kurdish- 
     dominated south-east had also confirmed allegations 
     that security forces were reverting to tactics from 
     "the bad old days," although statistics showed that 
     instances of torture had fallen by around 13 percent 
     since last year.  Indiscriminate shootings, widespread 
     extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and instances 
     of masked men raiding homes in the night were reported 
     to have made a comeback. 
 
     "Our sources were very credible and the evidence was 
     corroborated by all the different groups we spoke to," 
     said the MEP.  "They left me in no doubt of the 
     veracity of the claims." 
 
     But Turkey's foreign ministry spokesman, Namik Tan, 
     called the claims "silly stories."  "They are purely 
     fictitious.  They have nothing to do with the truth. 
     You will not find anyone who is credible in Turkey 
     saying such things." 
 
     Mr. Howitt said that in September alone 95 people had 
     been arbitrarily arrested in Van, a town near Iran. 
     Among them was Yusuf Hasar, a 19-year-old suspected 
     Kurdish rebel sympathizer whose body was found last 
     week after being arrested by police the previous day. 
     The violations have coincided with an upsurge of 
     violence in Turkey's troubled south-east.  Armed 
     clashes have intensified since rebels lifted a 
     unilateral ceasefire in June last year. 
 
     The delegation, whose findings will form the basis of a 
     report that will feed into Turkey's membership 
     negotiations, was equally appalled by reports of 
     violence against women and allegations of body organs 
     being removed by security forces.  Mazumber, a group 
     representing the relatives of torture victims, told the 
     MEPs that vital organs were routinely removed from the 
     bodies of ethnic Kurds, presumably as part of the 
     illicit trade in people trafficking. 
 
     Mr. Howitt said it was essential the abuses be 
     confronted before Ankara got into the nitty-gritty of 
     the talks. 
 
     Since assuming power in 2002, Ankara's modernizing 
     Islamist government has won plaudits for overhauling 
     the penal code, abolishing the death penalty, 
     dismantling once-dreaded state security prisons and 
     increasing cultural rights for ethnic minorities.  But 
     Turkish human rights defenders still speak of a 
     pervasive "culture of violence" in the country's 
     police, security and judicial forces.  END TEXT. 
 
¶14.  Reported by BBC News on Monday, October 11: 
 
     TITLE:  People-smuggling racked "smashed" 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  An alleged multi-million pound people- 
     smuggling racket, believed to have brought up to 
     200,000 people into the UK, has been smashed in dawn 
     raids. 
 
     Ten people, arrested after swoops on addresses in 
     London and Lincolnshire, are alleged to have smuggled 
     thousands of Turkish Kurds into Britain. 
 
     Police say the racket's ringleaders are among 10 
     detainees, who are all Turkish Kurds. 
 
     Operation Bluesky has involved police from around 
     Europe. 
 
     The network is thought to have brought people to 
     Britain, in groups of up to 20 a time, concealed in 
     cars, vans, lorries and aircraft. 
 
     We have today dismantled a huge organized criminal 
     network of human smuggling - Tarique Ghaffur, Assistant 
     Commissioner. 
 
     The illegal immigrants, smuggled in the Kurdish areas 
     of Turkey, pay between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds for 
     journeys which often take months. 
 
     The journeys involve being passed on to gang members in 
     several European countries, staying at safe houses 
     before being smuggled into the UK in cramped 
     conditions. 
 
     Many of the immigrants find low-paid, black market 
     menial jobs in north London's Turkish community. 
 
     Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur 
     said the "massive operation" had been aimed at those 
     "right at the top of this network." 
     "We have today dismantled a huge organized criminal 
     network of human smuggling," he said. 
 
     Low-paid jobs 
     The racket had mainly targeted people from the Kurdish 
     areas of Turkey with the promise of a better life, Mr. 
     Ghaffur said. 
 
     "One here some of these people get into low-paid jobs, 
     others are clearly left to their own devices to find 
     work," he added. 
 
     "Our commitment is to take out such networks and this 
     operation is the latest in our collaboration with the 
     growing number of law enforcement agencies in Europe to 
     work robustly to achieve this mission." 
 
     The 10 were arrested in raids on 12 addresses in London 
     and one in Boston, Lincolnshire. 
 
     More than 200 officers were involved in the London 
     raids at five houses in Enfield, two in Bexleyheath and 
     one each in Barnet, Hackney, Hammersmith, Haringey and 
     Tower Hamlets. 
 
     "European prosecutions" 
 
     BBC correspondent Neil Bennett said "tens of thousands" 
     of people were alleged to have been smuggled into the 
     UK by the network with "many millions of pounds made." 
 
     There had already been prosecutions in several European 
     countries in relation to the network, he said. 
 
     There had been disruptions of the gang's activities at 
     various stages of the chain in other countries. 
 
     There would certainly be charges of people trafficking 
     here, he said. 
 
     "The police believe that this operation has certainly 
     uncovered one of the biggest people trafficking 
     networks they have ever uncovered in this country," he 
     added.  END TEXT. 
 
¶15.  Reported by TimesOnline on Monday, October 11: 
 
     TITLE:  Europe's biggest human-traffic ring smashed 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Eight people suspected of masterminding a 
     pan-European human-trafficking network, which has 
     smuggled up to 200,000 Turkish Kurds into Britain, were 
     among 19 arrested in a series of dawn raids today. 
 
     The arrests are the result of a two-year investigation, 
     Operation Bluesky, in which 200 officers in Britain 
     have collaborated with counterparts in Italy, France, 
     Holland, Belgium and Denmark to follow the gang's 
     movements and trace its hierarchy. 
 
     Detectives said that the eight - who were arrested from 
     12 residential and business addresses in London and one 
     in Boston, Lincolnshire - were running a sophisticated 
     criminal network that charged asylum seekers between 
     3,000 and 5,000 pounds for a ticket into Britain. 
 
     Of the other 11 people detained in today's operation 
     two were women, believed to be wives of the alleged 
     ring-leaders, who tried to intervene in their arrests. 
     Another six people were held as suspected illegal 
     immigrants, one man was detained on suspicion of money- 
     laundering and two more for theft. 
 
     Police said that the majority of the migrants would be 
     driven across mainland Europe in groups of 20 to 
     coastal ports.  The journey could last several months 
     in cramped conditions and some migrants never arrived. 
 
     There, they were held in safe houses before being 
     smuggled aboard ferries in secret compartments hidden 
     in lorries and cars.  Some were taken across the 
     Channel in light aircraft and flown into provincial 
     airfields in Kent and Cambridgeshire. 
     Once in Britan, most of the illegal immigrants have 
     been absorbed into north London's Turkish community, 
     working in the capital's black market economy. 
 
     Some illegal immigrants have obtained stolen or forged 
     UK papers.  Many have used the money they earn to 
     sponsor other family members to join them. 
 
     The smugglers are estimated to have made tens of 
     millions of pounds.  Money has been invested in 
     property and small businesses such as cafes and snooker 
     halls.  It is believed officers also recovered hundreds 
     of thousands of pounds. 
 
     One source described the scale of the operation as 
     "absolutely massive" and "frightening." 
 
     This morning's raids were part of Scotland Yard's 
     Operation Maxim, which was set up to tackle organized 
     immigration crime in London. 
 
     More than 200 police officers were involved in this 
     morning's raids at five houses in Enfield, two in 
     Bexleyheath and one in each of Barnet, Haringey, Tower 
     Hamlets, Hackney and Hammersmith. 
 
     Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner, Tarique 
     Ghaffur, the head of the Specialist Crime Directorate, 
     said:  "We have today dismantled a huge organized 
     criminal network of human smuggling. 
 
     "We have been working on this operation for two years 
     and we have worked with agencies across Europe.  It is 
     a massive operation." 
 
     Mr. Ghaffur said today's raids were aimed at those 
     "right at the top of this network." 
 
     Detective Chief Superintendent Bill Skelly, one of the 
     lead officers in the operation, said police were 
     searching for at least one more man in connection with 
     the investigation. 
 
     "This is the most significant action taken by the 
     Metropolitan Police against a London-based human 
     smuggling network," he said. 
 
     "We believe these are the very top people in this 
     network.  Having arrested them it will end its 
     activities in the short term and it will take some time 
     for the network to recover, if indeed it can."  END 
     TEXT. 
 
¶16.  Published by Life Style Extra (www.lse.co.uk) and China 
View (www.xinhuanet.com) on Monday, October 11: 
 
     TITLE:  10 arrested in people smuggling raids 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Ten people suspected of being involved in 
     one of Britain's largest ever human smuggling rackets 
     were arrested today. 
 
     Seven men and two women were held after a series of 
     dawn raids were carried out at 12 addresses across 
     London this morning involving more than 200 officers. 
     Another man was arrested in Lincolnshire. 
 
     Those arrested were involved in running an organized 
     criminal network, smuggling illegal immigrants, mainly 
     from Turkey, into the UK through ports in Holland, 
     Italy, France and Belgium. 
 
     Today's arrests were carried out under Operation Blue 
     Sky, a two year operation involving police in France, 
     Holland, Denmark, Italy and Belgium, as well as 
     Europol, which represents pan-Europe policing activity 
     and Eurojust. 
 
     The operation was led by the Met's Operation Maxim, 
     which aims to eradicate human trafficking, and REFLEX, 
     a government sponsored multi-agency taskforce dealing 
     with organized immigration crime as well as the 
     National Criminal Intelligence Service, the Immigration 
     Service and the Passport Service. 
 
     Metropolitan Police Specialist Crime Directorate, 
     Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said:  "We have 
     today dismantled a huge organized criminal network in 
     human smuggling. 
 
     "Our commitment is taking out such networks and this 
     operation is the latest in our collaboration with a 
     growing number of law enforcement agencies in Europe to 
     work robustly to achieve this mission." 
 
     Detective Chief Superintendent Bill Skelly, Head of the 
     Metropolitan Police Service's Operation Maxim said: 
     "Today's arrests were the result of a co-ordinated 
     response involving numerous parts of the Metropolitan 
     Police Service, and in close cooperation with partner 
     agencies across London and Europe, sharing their 
     expertise and working closely together. 
 
     "Under Operation Maxim, funded by the Home Office's 
     REFLEXT activity, the Metropolitan Police Service, 
     supported by Europol and Eurojust, continues to enhance 
     its efforts against those seeking to make profit from 
     the illegal movement of people into the United 
     Kingdom."  END TEXT. 
 
¶17.  Reported by The Anatolian Times on Tuesday, October 11 
and by The New Anatolian on Wednesday, October 12: 
 
     TITLE:  Turkey Takes All Steps to Fight Human 
     Smuggling, Aksen 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Turkey takes all legal and administrative 
     steps to fight human smuggling, said Serhat Aksen, a 
     Turkish diplomat at the Office of Turkey's Permanent 
     Representative to the UN. 
 
     The UN General Assembly First Committee which deals 
     with social, cultural and humanitarian issues, had a 
     plenary session on prevention of crimes, international 
     drug trafficking and penal law and discussed four draft 
     resolutions the same day.  Addressing the session, 
     Serhat Aksen said that Turkey adopted the UN Convention 
     against Transnational Organized Crimes and the UN 
     Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
     Persons, Especially Women and Children. 
 
     Aksen also stressed that the Turkish Penal Code which 
     went into effect on June 1st, 2005 envisaged fines and 
     imprisonment terms from 8 years up to 12 years for 
     those who are involved in human trafficking. 
 
     Aksen also referred to the shelters built for victims 
     of human trafficking by the National Mission Group to 
     Fight Human Trafficking (founded in Turkey in 2002) and 
     the aid-information telephone line established for 
     victims in many languages 24 hours a day. 
 
     Turkey was at the transit route of international drug 
     trafficking because of its geographical location, Aksen 
     said and added that Turkey signed all related UN 
     conventions on the fight against drug trafficking and 
     bilateral cooperation agreements with 66 countries on 
     the issue.  END TEXT. 
 
¶18.  Reported by Financial Times on Monday, October 11: 
 
     TITLE:  UK police break human smuggling ring 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  UK police on Tuesday arrested at least 18 
     suspected of involvement in one of Europe's largest 
     human smuggling ring, in a series of 12 early morning 
     raids across London and one in Lincolnshire. 
 
     Reports on the number of arrests have varied between 18 
     and 19, and those arrested include six men and two 
     women in London.  Seven of those are believed to be the 
     ring leaders, who face conspiracy charges.  Six others 
     will be charged with residing in the country illegally. 
     Those arrested also included former asylum seekers. 
 
     The joint operation code named `Bluesky,' was carried 
     out by 200 British police working in conjunction with 
     detectives from Italy, Holland, France, Belgium and 
     Denmark. 
 
     Scotland Yard said the raids followed a two-year 
     investigation into the smuggling network that brought 
     illegal immigrants, predominantly from Turkey, into 
     London from mainland Europe. 
 
     The ring, allegedly a pan European organization, may be 
     behind the smuggling of up to 200,000 people into the 
     UK, senior officials said.  It is one of the biggest 
     human trafficking operations the British police have 
     encountered. 
 
     Bill Skelly, directive chief superintendent of the 
     Metropolitan police, said that illegal immigration was 
     a huge problem.  "Worldwide, it is estimated that this 
     is a business worth 8 billion pounds and for the UK it 
     is estimated that it is as significant as the 
     trafficking of Class A drugs." 
 
     Police said the gang is believed to have lured 
     thousands of economic migrants from eastern Europe to 
     Britain with the promise of a better life. 
 
     Those illegal immigrants would have paid between 3,000 
     and 5,000 pounds to be smuggled - in groups of up to 20 
     at a time - from the Balkans.  The journey may have 
     taken several months to cross from mainland Europe to 
     the continent's western coastal ports.  According to 
     Mr. Skelly, "The mode of transport varied but it was 
     inherently very dangerous." 
 
     After arriving in Britain, most are believed to enter 
     low-paid work in menial jobs.  Some are believed to 
     carry stolen or forged UK papers and many use the money 
     they earn to sponsor other family members to make a 
     similar trip to Britain. 
 
     The smuggling ring is estimated to have made tens of 
     millions of pounds from the racket, a portion of which 
     goes into businesses such as cafes and snooker halls. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶19. Published by Sabah, Milliyet and Cumhuriyet on 
Wednesday, October 12: 
 
     TITLE:  BLOW TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING GROUP 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Police in Britain gave a blow to the 
     biggest human trafficking network of Europe, involving 
     Turks as well.  According to an announcement by the 
     British Police, the network made approximately 200,000 
     people enter the country secretly and that it earned 
     millions of Euro for human smuggling.  Approximately 
     200 policemen raided 12 houses and offices in the early 
     morning hours in the capital London and in Lincolnshire 
     and detained suspects, including 18 Turkish citizens. 
 
     According to the police announcement seven of them were 
     detained for human trafficking, two for interfering in 
     an investigation, six for violating the immigration 
     Law, two for theft and one person for money laundering. 
 
     The police noted that eight of the detainees were the 
     leaders of the network.  In the operation codenamed 
     "Blue Sky," the London Police cooperated with the 
     Italian, Dutch, French, Belgian and Danish police.  The 
     network is believed to have used to bring in people in 
     20-person groups on cars, trucks, TIR trucks or 
     aircraft. 
 
     The police said that immigrants sometimes paid 4,500- 
     7,000 Euros to smugglers for their voyage that 
     sometimes lasted for months in return for a promise of 
     a better life. 
 
     Those who enter Britain through illegal means are 
     mostly from the Southeast Anatolia and during their 
     voyage as they traveled in Europe they were handed over 
     from one gang to another and sometimes were kept in 
     secret cell houses and in very bad conditions. 
 
     Most of the immigrants are employed with low salaries 
     at the Turkish quarters in northern London.  These are 
     either illegal workplaces or they are employed in the 
     service sector.  Smuggling leaders, with the millions 
     of Euros they earn from smuggling, invest in cafes and 
     pool bars. 
 
     Bill Skelly from the British police said, "This 
     operation was a product of a two-year study and it is 
     part of an international operation."  He added that 
     some of the immigrants, following many month long 
     voyages in very bad conditions, died even before they 
     could reach Britain.  END TEXT. 
 
¶20.  Published by UNFPA News (www.unfpa.org) on Tuesday, 
October 11: 
 
     TITLE:  Merchants of Misery:  Human Trafficking in 
     Moldova 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Silvia's descent into the dark world of 
     trafficking began when a neighbor told the 19-year-old 
     that she could get a good job as a sales girl in 
     Moscow.  Unemployed, broke, with a baby daughter and no 
     husband or job prospects in her hometown of Uhgheni, 
     Silvia (not her real name) decided to travel to the 
     Moldovan capital of Chisinau where she was to meet two 
     men who would arrange her travel to Moscow.  Upon 
     arrival in the capital, her daughter was put in the 
     care of one of the man's sisters.  "I still do not know 
     what was happening to me until the day we left for 
     Moscow and all my papers, including my passport, were 
     confiscated," recalls Silvia.  "They told me that if I 
     did not cooperate, I would never see my baby daughter 
     again." 
 
     In poverty stricken Moldova, sex trafficking is big 
     business, controlled mostly by Russian organized crime 
     networks.  According to some estimates, as many as 
     140,000 young Moldovan women have fallen prey to the 
     flesh trade, lured by phony newspaper ads or introduced 
     to traffickers through neighbors or school classmates. 
     Like Silvia, most of the girls come from impoverished 
     rural areas where more than half the population is 
     unemployed. 
 
     Now 21 and reunited with her daughter, Silvia is hiding 
     out in Chisinau.  Like a fugitive, she is staying in an 
     undisclosed location, while her neighbor and others in 
     the smuggling ring are being charged with trafficking. 
     "I still fear for my life and that of my daughter," 
     explains Silvia in an unsteady voice.  "I do not know 
     if I will ever again feel safe.  Certainly not until 
     the people who trafficked me are in prison." 
 
     Sitting on a couch in her `safe house' - an 
     International Office of Migration (IOM) haven for 
     trafficked women - Silvia does not look like a victim - 
     except for the deep sadness in her large brown eyes. 
 
     "I was sick, tired, afraid and filthy," she recalls, 
     looking down at the floor and grasping her hands 
     tightly together.  "I was really in bad shape when I 
     arrived here.  I was shaking constantly, had horrible 
     headaches and continuing nightmares.  If not for the UN 
     [United Nations] system here and help from IOM, I would 
     be either dead or in a mental hospital." 
 
     The shelter has provided her with medical treatment and 
     psychosocial counseling, "which has helped a lot," says 
     Silvia, smiling for the first time.  "I have also 
     learned about reproductive health, thanks to UNFPA, and 
     how to take better care of myself and my daughter." 
 
     Since 1999, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, 
     and International Organization on Migration (IOM) have 
     been collaborating closely to assist trafficking 
     victims.  The IOM shelter is not far from a UNFPA- 
     supported health center, which offers a complete array 
     of reproductive health services, including sexually- 
     transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment, free 
     contraceptives and pre- and post-natal care. 
 
     IOM, in collaboration with UN agencies, is also 
     providing Silvia with a skill.  "I am taking beauty 
     courses, which will allow me to make money doing 
     manicures and pedicures once I have completed my 
     training."  She adds, "All I want now is to have a 
     normal life again." 
 
     Returning to normalcy is a huge challenge for girls 
     trafficked into the sex industry.  Most are unable to 
     have trusting relationships with men.  "Many girls are 
     so destroyed by the experience that even after being 
     rescued and returned home, they try to kill 
     themselves," says Olga Kolomeyets, counter-trafficking 
     coordinator for IOM in Moldova. 
 
     Nearly 90 per cent of returnees that come through 
     Chisinau have acquired an STI that needs treatment, and 
     1.2 per cent are HIV positive.  "Before we set up this 
     rehab facility and shelter, victims of trafficking had 
     no help at all in this country," says Kolomeyets.  "We 
     have assisted over 1500 girls here, but we need to do 
     more." 
 
     According to Kolomeyets, virtually all of the girls who 
     pass through the facility are emotionally traumatized. 
     "Some will never recover," she notes sadly, adding that 
     up to 85 per cent had suffered domestic abuse prior to 
     falling into the clutches of traffickers.  "There is a 
     history of violence in their families," she continues. 
     "So they see their sex slavery as another form of 
     domestic abuse, which they have been subjected to all 
     their lives." 
 
     Silvia's own "journey into hell," as she calls it, 
     lasted for a year and a half.  "I was smuggled into 
     Moscow along with 11 other young women, all from 
     Moldova," she says in a quiet monotone voice.  "None of 
     the girls were doing this voluntarily.  We refused to 
     work at first, so they starved and beat us.  One of the 
     overseers took an instant dislike to me.  He raped me, 
     then beat me senseless." 
 
     Her "home" in Moscow was a grimy hotel in a seedy 
     section of the city.  Actually, the entire hotel was a 
     brothel, filled with girls from Moldova, Ukraine, 
     Belarus and other former Soviet republics.  "At first 
     we were forced to walk the streets in search of 
     clients," recalls Silvia.  "If I did not return with 
     clients, I was beaten.  We had to work in thin dresses 
     even in the middle of the Russian winter." 
 
     Silvia became numb in both body and spirit.  The cold 
     and brutal conditions under which they were forced to 
     live wore most of the girls down.  "A number of girls 
     tried to commit suicide.  I stayed alive because of my 
     daughter." 
 
     When one girl from Ukraine threw herself out of the top 
     floor window, her body was removed from the street like 
     a piece of garbage.  "The police did nothing to close 
     the brothel or take action against the operators," 
     explains Silvia.  "The police were in the back-pocket 
     of the criminals.  We had to service lots of cops for 
     free." 
 
     Her captivity in Moscow lasted a full year.  Although 
     she was permitted to send $100 a month to Chisinau to 
     support her daughter, Silvia was forbidden direct 
     contact.  "Other than this, I never saw one dollar of 
     the money I brought in," she says.  "And it was a lot, 
     as we charged $150 for sex, and sometimes I had to 
     service up to 30 clients in one day." 
 
     When Silvia got sick and had to be hospitalized for 
     exhaustion and venereal disease, the overseers sent her 
     back to Moldova to visit her daughter.  "I was still 
     weak and afraid all the time," she says.  "I did not 
     even know what disease I had."  She later guessed that 
     it was syphilis. 
     After recovering her health, Silvia was confronted 
     again by the same two men who had smuggled her into 
     Russia.  They threatened to harm her daughter if she 
     did not continue to work for them and shortly 
     thereafter smuggled her into Turkey via Izmir. 
 
     After just three months, the Turkish police raided the 
     hotel, and she was arrested.  After spending two months 
     in jail, she was turned over to IOM staff and 
     repatriated back to Moldova.  (Comment:  Kolomeyets has 
     admitted to IOM Ankara that Silvia is actually several 
     women and that none of the women were imprisoned in 
     Turkey for two months.  End Comment.) 
 
     Why does Silvia want her story told?  "At first I 
     thought all the stories about trafficked girls were 
     fake, a scare tactic," she says.  "But now I know 
     better, and I want to help others understand that it is 
     real and can happen to anyone." 
 
     Silvia pauses to dry her eyes and collect her thoughts. 
     "When I came back from Turkey and collected my 
     daughter, it was the lowest point in my life," she 
     says, staring at the floor.  "I had no hope for the 
     future.  Here I found myself and have learned a lot." 
     She pauses, then looks up.  "I will have a new life," 
     she says defiantly.  "No one should have to endure what 
     I went through.  No one."  END TEXT. 
 
¶21.  Published by The Independent on Wednesday, October 12: 
 
     TITLE:  Drinking dens provide link for those seeking 
     better life 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  The network of Turkish social clubs and 
     cafes dotted throughout Wood Green in north London are 
     the focal point for scores of illegal immigrants being 
     smuggled into London. 
 
     For the Turkish men and women seeking a better life, 
     but who do not have family in Britain, the unlicensed 
     bars and drinking dens provide a crucial link, 
     according to community leaders. 
 
     But Yashar Ismailoglu, the co-ordinator of London's 
     biggest Kurdish and Turkish community and information 
     center, said they could also introduce economic 
     migrants to London's underworld. 
 
     "Some of the people who are smuggled from Turkey come 
     from rural areas, cannot speak English, and have no 
     contacts in Britain. 
 
     "They end up in [the north London boroughs of] Hackney 
     or Haringey in the underground cafes and social clubs. 
     Many of these places do not have licenses, or toilets, 
     or fire escapes.  People can end up getting involved in 
     drugs and prostitution.  People can end up sleeping 
     rough.  They do not have any money, many have spent it 
     all getting into the country.  It can cost 8,000 pounds 
     per head." 
 
     He added that he had heard of cases in which people 
     were "packed into lorries in confined spaces unable to 
     move for hours." 
 
     "Some have mental problems," he said.  "We have also 
     heard about smugglers who have abandoned people at 
     sea." 
 
     Mr. Ismailoglu said many of the Turks that were 
     smuggled into London ended up working in the hidden 
     economy. 
 
     "They end up in kebab and coffee shops, or working on 
     building sites.  There is an established network 
     throughout the country among the Turkish and Kurdish 
     community. 
 
     "They go from London to cities such as Liverpool, 
     Manchester and Doncaster," he said. 
 
     Scotland Yard yesterday released an X-ray image which 
     shows illegal immigrants packed into secret 
     compartments on a lorry, to highlight the methods used 
     by people smugglers. 
 
     Most of the Turkish Kurds smuggled into Britain by the 
     gang targeted yesterday are believed to have been 
     brought in hidden on lorries and vans.  It is estimated 
     the gang could have made up to 100,000 pounds from a 
     lorry-load of 20 migrants. 
 
     Police say the immigrants, most of which came from 
     eastern Turkey, were charged between 3,000 and 5,000 to 
     be smuggled in groups of up to 20 across mainland 
     Europe to the continent's northern ports.  Once there, 
     they waited in safe houses until the time was right for 
     them to be brought into Britain. 
 
     Some were taken across the channel in light aircraft to 
     small provincial airfields in Kent and Cambridgeshire. 
     The journey takes several months.  The police who 
     carried out the investigation said that most of the 
     Turkish people being smuggled into Britain should not 
     be considered "victims" as they co-operated with the 
     trafficking gang and most immigrants were coming to 
     Britain to live illegally with family and friends who 
     were legitimately living in this country.  The officers 
     said there was no evidence to suggest that violence was 
     used by the gang members against the people they were 
     smuggling into Britain.  END TEXT. 
 
¶22.  Reported by Sabah on Thursday, October 13: 
 
     TITLE:  Some Donate Organs 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  An immigrant speaking to the British 
     Daily, The Guardian, said, "We went on a truck without 
     knowing where we were heading.  They (the smugglers) 
     did not tell us that the trip would last for six days. 
     We could have suffocated." 
 
     Ibrahim Dogus, who lives in North London noted, "Since 
     many of them (the smuggled) did not have enough money, 
     their organs are taken.  Some of them (the smugglers) 
     just disappear."  END TEXT. 
 
¶23.  Published by The Turkish Daily News on Friday, October 
14: 
 
     TITLE:  7 charged in UK over human smuggling ring 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Seven men were charged on Thursday with 
     people trafficking after being detained in police raids 
     aimed at smashing a ring suspected of bringing tens of 
     thousands of Turkish Kurds into Britain, police said. 
     The seven were charged with conspiracy to facilitate 
     illegal entry into Britain, and six of them were also 
     charged with money laundering at Croydon magistrates 
     court in south London.  A further six men suspected of 
     immigration violations were released by police to be 
     dealt with by the Immigration Service.  A total of 19 
     people were arrested Tuesday in the raids at a dozen 
     houses and business premises in London and in Boston, 
     eastern England.  END TEXT. 
MCELDOWNEY