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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 000296 
 
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, January 1- 
15, 2006 
 
¶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 Embassy translation. 
 
¶2. Published by Sabah on Sunday, January 1: 
 
     TITLE:  A blow to prostitution gang 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  The Ankara Police claim to have brought 
     down a gang which forced mostly foreign women into 
     prostitution. 
 
     After a long period of pursuit, the Ankara Security 
     Directorate, Smuggling and Organized Crime Unit dealt a 
     blow to a prostitution ring.  Eight people of the gang 
     were arrested, six of them women.  Twenty-one women 
     used as capital were rescued.  Saliha N., the female 
     ringleader, was brought in front of the court. 
 
     On a tip that women were being forced into 
     prostitution, the Ankara Security Directorate, 
     Smuggling and Organized Crime Unit, in an operation 
     nicknamed "Suna", arrested Saliha N., Fatma B., Basak 
     M., Esra N., Beyhan A., Tulay K., Ibrahim N. and Mehmet 
     ¶D.  Twenty-one people were rescued from the bar the 
     gang operated in Ankara. 
 
     Names of clients were retrieved from diaries 
     confiscated from the arrested women.  Eight of the 
     prostitution ring members were charged with organizing 
     a gang, inducing and procuring prostitution and 
     procuring illegal revenue.  Saliha N. was sent to 
     prison by the duty judge.  The others were released 
     pending trial.  END TEXT. 
 
¶3.  Reported by Hurriyet on Sunday, January 1: 
 
     TITLE:  Used as a sex slave for six months 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  The man who sold Kyrgyz law graduate Tina 
     Slikova in Sanliurfa was arrested.  Tina Slikova was 
     saved. 
 
     Sanliurfa Vice Bureau team, on a tip, arrested Okan 
     Gulsen in a raid to save Kygryz citizen Tina Slikova 
     from torture and forced prostitution.  Police saved 
     Slikova.  On the body of the Kyrgyz law graduate who 
     came to Turkey a year ago were cigarette and iron 
     burns. 
 
     It was understood that Slikova had been marketed to men 
     in Sanliurfa for the last six months.  Police noted 
     that Slivoka cried and had a hard time walking.  As 
     Gulesen was arrested, Slikova was delivered to the 
     Foreigners Police to begin deportation paperwork.  END 
     TEXT. 
 
¶4.  Published by Hurriyet on Friday, January 6: 
 
     TITLE:  Fearless Nazira causes gang to be caught 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  A Georgian woman who came to Turkey to be 
     a translator, but who was raped, tortured and forced 
     into prostitution, was successful in calling the police 
     and causing the traffickers to be caught. 
 
     Five months ago, Georgian Nazira U. (25), was brought 
     to Antalya by another Georgian woman to work as a 
     translator.  The unnamed woman sold Nazira to a 
     trafficking ring for $2,000 and she was sold to another 
     ring for $3,000.  Resisting forced prostitution, Nazira 
     was sold to traffickers Davut Kursun (56), Naci Koroglu 
     (38), Orhan Topraktepe (51) and Leyla Koroglu (35). 
     She was raped repeatedly and forced to prostitute 
     herself, resulting in a pregnancy. 
 
     One evening, with the help of a client, she called the 
     Kazakh Embassy and the police.  Upon notice, police 
     went into action and raided two houses.  Davud Kursun, 
     Naci Koroglu, Orhan Topraktepe and Leyla Koroglu were 
     arrested.  The police team found and entered a secret 
     area under the entrance to the adjoining duplex, where 
     they found Nazira U. and 30-year-old T.T., 26-year-old 
     I.R., all Georgians.  Moldavians 30-year-old L.V., 23- 
     year-old E.P. and 29-year-old M.D. were saved. 
 
     A search of gang leader Davut Kursun found that he had 
     been using a business card with model Tugba Ozay's 
     photograph on it.  The card said "Davut Kursun. 
     Groper.  He would not break anyone's heart."  Medical 
     examinations of the women revealed that they had been 
     tortured.  As the investigation continued, three people 
     were being sought. 
 
     Model Tugba Ozay, on the business cards, said, "When I 
     first heard it, I could not believe it.  In Turkey 
     someone was using my name and photograph to make money. 
     I told the police that I have nothing to do with this 
     type of work.  I know that people are making money by 
     using my pictures on the internet, but this really is 
     too much.  People created a prostitution gang and used 
     my photo on their business cards saying `Groper' and 
     `we won't hurt anyone.' They just use  famous people to 
     earn money."  END TEXT. 
 
¶5.  Published by Milliyet on Friday, January 6: 
 
     TITLE:  Five-month sex slavery of Georgian woman ends 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  A young Georgian woman, who arrived in 
     Turkey to serve as an interpreter, but who was 
     forcefully kept by a prostitution ring, managed to 
     reach the Georgian embassy and was saved by a police 
     raid.  In connection with the incident, four people, 
     including one woman, were captured. 
 
     The Antalya Police Smuggling and Organized Crime Unit 
     found out that N.B. (25), who arrived in Turkey five 
     months ago, was kept in a house in Antalya.  The 
     information came from the Georgian embassy. 
 
     The police found out that the house that N.B. was kept 
     belonged to D.K. who already had a criminal record for 
     pimping.  N.B. was saved in a police raid. 
 
     During the operation, D.K. and gang members O.T., N.K. 
     and his Georgian wife, L.K, were captured.  Along with 
     N.B., police also found Georgian citizens T.T. and 
     I.R., and Moldavians E.P., L.V. and M.D., in three 
     houses where they were forced into prostitution. 
 
     The Georgian woman said that she arrived in Istanbul 
     five months ago to serve as an interpreter.  She met 
     with some people and after her friend departed, these 
     people kept her at gunpoint.  Later she was taken to 
     Antalya and put into a house.  N.B. said that she was a 
     virgin, but the three people who forcefully kept her 
     also raped her. 
 
     During the five months she was forced into 
     prostitution, she was burned with cigarettes and other 
     torture was inflicted on her.  She said that she was 
     3.5 months pregnant. 
 
     The Georgian woman and the other foreigners reportedly 
     will be sent back to their countries. 
 
     The foreign women were kept by the ringleader, D.K., 
     and other members in three separate houses in the Lara 
     and Guzeloba districts.  The police found secret doors 
     behind the coat closet.  They were used as a place to 
     hide during a police raid.  There were secret rooms 
     behind those doors and the foreign women were kept 
     there. 
 
     On D.K.'s business card, which had a picture of a woman 
     in a bikini and distributed to his clients, was written 
     "D.K. Never Breaks Anyone's Heart."  He also had his 
     cell phone number on it. 
 
     During the operation, the police seized a pistol and a 
     rifle. 
 
     Officials said that the domestic and foreign ties of 
     the detainees, who forced the women into prostitution, 
     were determined and that the investigation was ongoing. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶6.  Reported by the Turkish Daily News on Saturday, January 
7: 
 
     TITLE:  EU backs Turkey in fight against human 
     trafficking 
     BEGIN TEXT:  A European Union-financed project on human 
     trafficking was launched yesterday at Ankara's police 
     department, announced a European commission delegation 
     to Turkey in a written statement. 
 
     The statement emphasized that the project is crucial 
     for strengthening the capabilities of the law 
     enforcement institutions dealing with human 
     trafficking. 
 
     Within the framework of the project, the Berlin 
     Criminal Police Agency, representing the German 
     government, will assist the Turkish police in adopting 
     and implementing an anti-trafficking strategy in line 
     with the EU acquis, it said. 
 
     The Ludwig Boltzman Institute of Human Rights in 
     Austria will support the project, financed with 1.2 
     million euros from the European Community budget, by 
     providing experts on victim assistance. 
 
     The European Commission stated in its annual progress 
     report, released in November, that ongoing efforts in 
     the field needed to be maintained. 
 
     "This project will serve the purpose of building upon 
     these developments by preparing Turkey to meet the 
     minimum standards for the elimination of human 
     trafficking and to establish a basic framework for both 
     national and international institutional networks," the 
     statement noted.  END TEXT. 
 
¶7.  Published by the Turkish Daily News on Tuesday, January 
10, 2006: 
 
     TITLE:  Over 500,000 illegal migrants captured in 
     Turkey in last decade 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Police Chief Gokhan Aydiner announced 
     yesterday that more than 500,000 illegal migrants have 
     been captured in Turkey over the last 10 years. 
 
     "The transportation of 575,516 illegal migrants via 
     Turkey has been hindered, and 6,113 human traffickers 
     from 39 different countries have been captured since 
     1995," Aydiner was quoted as saying by NTV during a 
     briefing about a twinning project on the fight against 
     human trafficking.  The project is being carried out 
     within the framework of harmonization with the European 
     Union. 
 
     Turkey is located between European, Asian and Middle 
     Eastern countries and is a main route for illegal 
     migrants.  Each year thousands of illegal migrants from 
     Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe 
     attempt to sneak into Greece - a key entry point to the 
     EU - via Turkey. 
 
     Besides the position of being a "transit country," 
     Turkey is also a "target country" that is directly 
     affected by human trafficking.  Many illegal immigrants 
     enter Turkey via sea, air and land from Asian and 
     African countries and settle here. 
 
     Aydiner emphasized that children and women were most 
     exploited by human traffickers.  Operations have been 
     continuing "nonstop" for the capture of illegal 
     migrants, he said, while noting that 491 victims were 
     saved from human traffickers in the last two years and 
     sent back to their native countries. 
 
     "Human trafficking to our country is often seen as 
     exploitation of citizens - from countries that are 
     going through a transition period after the dissolution 
     of the Soviet Union - with the purpose of engaging in 
     prostitution; this makes Turkey a target country," he 
     added. 
 
     Turkey, a destination country for an increasing number 
     of women, introduced an action plan and launched a 
     national task force in 2003 to cope with the issue. 
 
     The Geneva-based United Nations' International 
     Organization for Migration (IOM), which Turkey joined 
     in 2004, is a major ally of the Turkish government in 
     counter-trafficking efforts. 
     In May 2005, the IOM set up a toll-free hotline in 
     Turkey for women to call for help.  In June, the IOM, 
     in close coordination with the Turkish government, 
     launched the first major multi-country prevention 
     campaign to combat human trafficking across Turkey and 
     main source countries in Eastern Europe and former 
     Soviet countries.  The $700,000 campaign, funded by the 
     U.S. government, is meant to raise awareness, step up 
     legal training for law enforcement and provide medical 
     and other assistance to the victims of exploitive human 
     trafficking.  END TEXT. 
 
¶8.   Published by People's Daily Online 
(www.english.people.com.cn) on Tuesday, January 10: 
 
     TITLE:  Turkey captures over 500,000 illegal immigrants 
     in past 10 years 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  Turkish Police Director General Gokhan 
     Aydiner announced on Monday that more than 500,000 
     illegal immigrants have been captured in the country 
     over the past 10 years. 
 
     In an interview with local private NTV, Aydiner said, 
     "The transportation of 575,516 illegal immigrants via 
     Turkey has been hindered and 6,113 human traffickers 
     from 39 different countries have been captured since 
     1995." 
 
     Aydiner also said that the operations against illegal 
     immigrants have been continuing, adding that during the 
     last two years alone, 491 victims were saved from human 
     traffickers and sent back to their native countries. 
 
     According to Aydiner, women and children formed the 
     bulk of human trafficking victims. 
 
     Turkey is located on a main route of illegal 
     immigrants. 
 
     Each year, thousands of illegal immigrants from Asia, 
     the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe attempt to 
     sneak into wealthy western European countries via 
     Turkey. 
 
     Besides the position of being a "transit country," 
     Turkey has gradually become a "target country" with 
     more and more illegal immigrants entering Turkey via 
     sea, air and land from Asian and African countries. 
 
     Facing increasing human trafficking, especially of 
     women, Turkey introduced an action plan and launched a 
     national fast force in 2003 to cope with the issue. 
     END TEXT. 
 
¶9.  Reported by Aksam on Tuesday, January 10: 
 
     TITLE:  This is too much - pimps with business cards 
 
     BEGIN TEXT:  While traffickers who use business cards 
     to sell women in Alanya in the Antalya province 
     continue to shock, work is being done to catch the 
     offenders.  Information that some pimps are 
     distributing business cards with photographs has caused 
     teams into action.  It was revealed that many of these 
     business cards use pictures of women in erotic 
     positions and use code names like "sauna" and "flower 
     shop."  In addition to the pictures of women, the 
     telephone number and the promise of "24-hour service" 
     are used to increase the number of customers of these 
     trafficked women.  Security forces are now on the trail 
     of these traffickers.  END TEXT. 
 
¶10.  Also reported by Aksam on Tuesday, January 10: 
     TITLE:  2,500 women caught in last three years 
     BEGIN TEXT: There has been a large increase in the 
     prostitution sector, especially with foreign women, in 
     the tourism capital (of Turkey), Antalya during the 
     last ten years. Security forces, which have not been 
     given a break, continue.  Two thousand five hundred 
     prostitutes were caught and processed, but returned to 
     the area.  END TEXT. 
WILSON