VZCZCXRO5678
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHFT #4232/01 1720651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 210651Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL FRANKFURT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5090
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 004232 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC GM
SUBJECT: TIP: Follow-Up on Pre-World Cup Raids in State of Hesse 
 
REF: A) Frankfurt 3313; B) Frankfurt 0889 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In pre-World Cup raids against forced prostitution 
and trafficking in the German state of Hesse on May 10, German law 
enforcement officials detained 74 persons.  Police and NGOs are now 
working with prostitutes to identify trafficking victims and build 
cases against pimps/traffickers.  Police are convinced their efforts 
are successful and say media predictions that large numbers of 
foreign prostitutes would come to Germany for the World Cup were 
grossly exaggerated.  NGOs are satisfied with police cooperation, 
but some say "dragnet" raids and routine police actions to check 
brothels are not the best tool to combat trafficking in persons 
(TIP).  END SUMMARY. 
 
By the Numbers 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to contacts from the Hesse state Office of 
Criminal Investigation (LKA/Landeskriminalamt) and Frankfurt police, 
hundreds of police and other state officials checked streets where 
prostitutes are permitted to work and raided private apartments 
during daytime hours May 10, followed by raids of major brothels 
that evening.  Law enforcement officials methodically checked 
establishments, looking for signs of illegal prostitution and 
trafficked persons (ref A).  Police told ConGen officials identity 
checks are one of the tools they use to identify potential 
trafficking victims and minors working as prostitutes. 
 
Detailed figures for the raids by region (Hesse LKA numbers): 
 
Southern Hesse: 484 police involved -- 51 prostitutes placed in 
protective custody 
 
Central Hesse: 150 police involved -- 12 prostitutes placed in 
protective custody 
 
Northern Hesse: 100 police involved -- 11 prostitutes placed in 
protective custody (7 Romanians, four Russians) 
 
Eastern Hesse: 76 police involved -- no persons detained 
 
What Happens To Victims? 
------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) For the seventy-four women taken into police custody, 
detention by police was the first step in a process designed to 
protect them and identify/prosecute traffickers.  In a private 
meeting with Consulate representatives, Frankfurt Police President 
Axel Thiel and investigator Wolfgang Meyer emphasized that police 
throughout the process treat detained prostitutes as victims, not 
criminals.  Meyer pointed out that many women do not initially see 
themselves as victims but come to that realization after counseling 
and assistance.  Although some counseling is provided by police 
social workers, most is provided by NGOs, which cooperate closely 
with police to ensure victims receive counseling and legal 
assistance.  Following investigations and court proceedings, women 
can, in some cases, return to their home countries.  Others obtain 
legal resident status in Germany.  Police work with NGOs to persuade 
victims to testify against their pimps/traffickers.  According to 
Barbara Dierichs, Chairperson of Franka (an NGO in northern Hesse), 
the organization is currently counseling ten of the eleven women who 
were detained in northern Hesse. 
 
Frankfurt Police President 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Frankfurt Police President Thiel expressed frustration at 
negative media reports on TIP and prostitution in Germany. 
Regarding the large-scale raids on May 10, Thiel said police 
findings demonstrate there has been no substantial increase in TIP 
and that the oft-repeated figure of 40,000 prostitutes converging on 
Germany for the FIFA World Cup is a gross exaggeration.  Thiel 
conceded that in an operation of such magnitude (with hundreds of 
locations checked in one day), it was possible that venues checked 
later in the day had been tipped off to the raids by venues checked 
earlier in the day.  However, police found that many brothel owners 
and prostitutes seemed surprised even later in the day.  Thiel and 
Meyer told us police surveillance and raids are effective measures 
against TIP and said they would continue to use such methods to 
fight TIP during and after the World Cup. 
 
Police: Fans Unlikely to Frequent Private Apartments 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Meyer reported private apartment prostitution will not play 
a significant role during the World Cup.  He claimed fans looking 
for sexual services would likely go to brothels in the city center, 
 
FRANKFURT 00004232  002 OF 002 
 
 
which remain under close police surveillance.  Foreign fans would 
find it difficult to access private apartments due to language 
constraints and unfamiliarity (advertisements for such apartments / 
escort services usually appear in classified ads in local 
newspapers).  Meyer acknowledged street prostitution remains a major 
challenge for police during the World Cup. 
 
NGOs 
---- 
 
¶6. (SBU) NGOs such as Frankfurt-based FIM (Frauenrecht ist 
Menschenrecht/Women's Rights are Human Rights) and Franka tell us 
they are pleased on the whole with police efforts and cooperation, 
but that raids tend to focus resources in areas of legal 
prostitution (see ref A).  Pointing to the relatively low number of 
arrests in northern Hesse (11), Franka's Barbara Dierichs said she 
suspects some brothels were tipped off before the raid, but noted 
police had success in outlying establishments not normally under 
surveillance (which were caught off guard). 
 
Controversial NGO Dona Carmen Criticizes Raids 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7. (SBU) Dona Carmen, a controversial Frankfurt-based NGO that works 
closely with prostitutes in Germany and supports their efforts to 
organize, was critical of the raids and similar police operations. 
Dona Carmen spokesperson Juanita Henning told us "oversized raids" 
like the ones in Hesse further stigmatize and isolate prostitutes, 
damaging legitimate efforts to assist TIP victims.  Citing German 
Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) sources, Henning 
stated 99.5% of all prostitutes in Germany work legally and that 
large-scale "show" raids mostly just harass legal prostitutes.  She 
called upon the German government to grant full legal status to 
foreign prostitutes working in Germany to enable them to receive 
social benefits.  (NOTE: While Dona Carmen has extensive contacts 
among prostitutes -- particularly long-time sex workers -- it is 
somewhat isolated among German NGOs in the sector.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶8. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
AKER