VZCZCXRO3913
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTA #3102/01 2450759
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020759Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY ALMATY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6779
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ5//
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-2//
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCJ5//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP EURASIA//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP-SOLIC-CN//
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC//IET//
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHAST/USOFFICE ASTANA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 003102 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL RICHARD, BUHLER, AND CARROLL; EUR/ACE; SCA/CEN FOR 
MUDGE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PINS PGOV PHUM KCRM KCOR KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: POTPOURRI OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CASES 
 
 
ALMATY 00003102  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  The following is a collection of media reports on 
various types of TIP ranging from debt servitude to sex tourism. 
End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
DEBT OF THE PARENTS PAID BY ENSLAVING THE CHILDREN 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  In late May, the local newspaper "Express-K" and Kokshetau 
newspaper "Kurs" reported on a debt servitude incident in 
Kokshetau, northern Kazakhstan.  The under-aged daughter of an 
enslaved woman was forced into the same servitude to ensure the 
mother's silence and help pay off her debt.  A relative of the 
victim approached the leader of a Kokshetau NGO, the Feminist 
League, for help.  Based on the facts provided by the relative, a 
Feminist League representative filed a complaint with the 
Administration of Combating Organized Crime of the Northern 
Kazakhstan Oblast Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 
(MVD) on April 18, 2006.  According to the Department on Combating 
Trafficking in Persons in the headquarters of the Ministry of 
Internal Affairs, the complaint was denied due to the lack of an 
alleged crime.  The MVD representative explained that the victim 
was questioned by the police but did not share any information 
that would support the compliant.  On the contrary, she claimed 
that she was satisfied with her living and working conditions. 
The newspaper reported that according to various witnesses, she 
had bruises and scars and was hospitalized in early March. 
According to the Feminist League, when the victim was asked about 
injuries, she said that she was drinking and fell several times. 
The press also reported the victim refused to undergo a medical 
examination. 
 
¶3.  The businesswoman involved in this case is a well-known farm 
owner.  According to the Feminist League, four more debt servitude 
victims escaped from the same farm but, being skeptical about the 
impartiality of law enforcement, are not willing to testify.  The 
head of the Feminist League in Kokshetau alleged to post that her 
complaint was rejected because the farm owner has relatives 
working in the Kokshetau Division of the MVD.  The MVD claimed, 
however, that the NGO leader is exaggerating the seriousness of 
the situation. 
 
¶4.  The alleged victim continues to work at the farm.  Her older 
daughter also continues working for the relatives of the farm 
owner as a household servant in return for food and clothes. 
 
------------ 
CHILD LABOR 
------------ 
 
¶5.  Trafficking in child labor also exists in Kazakhstan. 
Interfax-Kazakhstan reported that according to Sofia An, Project 
Coordinator of ILO-IPEC (International Labor Organization and 
International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor), children 
are exploited primarily in agriculture, i.e. on tobacco and cotton 
farms, and in shady businesses such as at bazaars, on the streets 
and in petty crime.  Sofia An reported that many children work on 
cotton farms in Southern Kazakhstan Oblast, with the consent of 
their parents, who justify the work as necessary for the family's 
survival. 
 
------------------------------------ 
FORCED PROSTITUTION IN KAZAKHSTAN... 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  In early June the "Express-K" newspaper reported the arrest of 
an 18-year old alleged pimp in Pavlodar (Northern Kazakhstan 
Oblast).  His sex-slaves were reportedly locked in rented 
apartments.  The suspect took the young women to saunas and hotels 
to sell their services.  The pimp and his colleagues took almost 
all of the money earned by women, leaving barely enough for food. 
Victims say that they were threatened and beaten regularly.  One 
of them contacted the police, who began an investigation which led 
to the arrest of the teenaged pimp. 
 
------------- 
...AND ABROAD 
------------- 
 
¶7.  According to the MVD, on January 6, 2006, the Administration 
of Combating Organized Crime of the Karaganda Oblast Division of 
 
ALMATY 00003102  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the MVD arrested a resident of Karaganda who was the head of the 
criminal organization that trafficked women to clients abroad. 
The traffickers reportedly enlisted the support of security guards 
of various tourist hotels in destination countries whose role was 
to ensure access to the hotels and scout for promising clients. 
All earnings were taken from the victims.  As in most trafficking 
cases, the prostitutes were threatened and punished in case of 
disobedience.  Police discovered a similar case in Astana in 
March. 
 
¶8.  In the end of April, "Express-K" reported that in the southern 
Kazakhstani city of Taraz, police arrested a female trafficker 
almost a year ago.  After being convicted of trafficking young 
women to Turkey for sexual exploitation, the woman received a four 
year suspended sentence.  The Procurator's Office objected to the 
Court's leniency. The objection was sustained and the trafficker 
was sent to prison. 
 
----------------- 
SUMMER INTERNSHIP 
----------------- 
 
¶9.  Not all trafficking cases include violence.  Policemen of the 
Administration of Combating Organized Crime of the Almaty Oblast 
Division of the MVD opened a criminal case regarding abduction of 
under-aged girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation.  It 
appears that a criminal organization conveyed under-aged girls 
between Ushtobe and Almaty for quite some time until a 13-year old 
was abducted.  Policemen noticed very young girls from Ushtobe on 
Saina Street in Almaty, which is notorious for prostitution.  Upon 
investigation, the police determined that the girls had been 
kidnapped.  The criminal group that organized the trafficking 
consisted of a female pimp from Almaty, her assistant in Ushtobe, 
drivers of private taxis, and an under-aged boy who was a 
schoolmate of a potential "victim."  Their victims were typically 
from poor families and displayed promiscuous behavior.  The group 
lured its victims into taxis using their schoolmates as bait.  No 
violence was necessary since the victims did not offer any 
resistance.  However, according to Mr. Sansyzbayev, Head of the 
Regional Department of Internal Affairs, many girls from Ushtobe 
travel to Almaty to earn some money during summer break and, 
therefore, it is difficult to identify those leaving Ushtobe 
involuntarily. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  Comment:  In a country where the media is kept on a tight 
leash, it is a good sign that trafficking cases are showing up in 
the press at all.  Unfortunately, a change in society's attitude 
towards TIP victims is slow to be realized.  Our main contact in 
IOM frequently laments the difficulty in changing the belief that 
trafficking is usually the victim's fault.  In press reports, the 
victims are regularly described as choosing their path and 
therefore are responsible for the consequences, notwithstanding 
the facts of the cases.  At the senior level of Kazakhstani police 
forces we repeatedly hear of the Government's commitment to 
attacking this crime.  Given the size of the police force and the 
limited budget for providing in-service officer training, changing 
the attitudes in law enforcement will also be a long process. 
However, senior-level MVD support, publication of the arrests 
noted above, and cases such as the one in Taraz, where an 
objection to a light sentence was sustained, give hope for 
continued progress in combating trafficking.  End comment. 
 
ORDWAY