VZCZCXRO0697
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTH #0504/01 0680915
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090915Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8389
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY 0156
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA 0056
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0061
RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 0219
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0558
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 0230
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0226
RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN 0061
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 0114
RUEHYE/AMEMBASSY YEREVAN 0115
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ATHENS 000504 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, INL/HSTC, G, DRL, PRM, IWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREL PREF ELAB GR
SUBJECT: GREECE PART 4: TIP REPORT SUBMISSION 2007 
 
REF: A. 2006 State 202745 
 
The following is Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please Protect 
Accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Below are Embassy AthenQ responses to the 2007 TIP report 
questionnaire.  Text is keyed to Ref A request for "Protection and 
Assistance to Victims" Section.  This is the fourth of four cables. 
 
¶3.  PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
    ------------------------------------- 
-- A. Does the government assist victims, for example, by providing 
temporary to permanent residency status, relief from deportation, 
shelter and access to legal, medical and psychological services?  If 
so, please explain.  Does the country have victim care and victim 
health care facilities? 
If so, can post provide the number of victims placed in these care 
facilities? 
 
Greece's 2002 anti-trafficking law and 2003 Presidential 
Decree call for comprehensive health services for victims, shelter, 
protection, and temporary relief from deportation at the 
prosecutor's request.  The 2005 Immigration Law provides for 
centrally issued residence permits with no fee and a one-month 
reflection period for victims.  The GoG reported that of the 83 
victims identified in 2006, 39 accepted support and protection by 
the state. 37 were provided shelter and other victim care from state 
and/or NGO shelters, 22 were assisted in cooperation with IOM, and 
34 received full victim's status by recognition of the TIP 
Prosecutor.  Other victims contacted their embassies independent of 
GoG assistance and so are not included in these statistics.  A 
number of victims identified in 2006 continued to be sheltered at 
NGO shelters.  During 2006 the government granted 15 new and 24 
renewed residence permits for TIP victims. (NGOs reported that, as 
occurs with residence permits granted to "normal" immigrants, there 
were sometimes months-long bureaucratic delays in the issuance of 
the residence/work permits which left the victims unable to seek 
work or travel.) 
 
Through the MFA, information from all NGO-run shelters was provided 
for all victims hosted in 2006, including details of nationality, 
and dates of protection and services provided to victims over the 
past two years. 
 
According to information from the MPO, the majority of the 
identified 48 victims in the first half of 2006 had legal 
documentation permitting them to reside in Greece, and did not 
request protection from the state.  The police reported that the 
majority of victims departed for their native countries without 
government repatriation assistance and a small number remain in 
Greece.  During 2006, IOM repatriated 28 victims and referred 10 
other victims to shelters and Embassies.  Of the 28 repatriated 
victims, 10 were from Moldova, 6 Russians, 5 Bulgarians, 1 Serbian, 
2 Ukrainian, 1 Romanian, 1 Nicaraguan, 1 Guatemalan, and 1 Honduran. 
 The NGO Solidarity repatriated 4 victims who were from Russia and 
Ukraine. 
 
-- B. Does the government provide funding or other forms of support 
to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to Victims?  Please 
explain. 
 
In 2006 the GoG authorized approximately 1.5 million euros to a 
variety of NGO programs and projects, including shelters, legal 
assistance, conferences, trainings, and prevention in source 
countries.  (See Prevention - D.) (Note: Please protect - Do not 
publish amount of GoG funding as it is not publicly released.  End 
Note.) 
 
-- C.  Is there a screening and referral process in place, when 
appropriate, to transfer victims detained, arrested or placed in 
protective custody by law enforcement authorities to NGO's that 
provide short- or long-term care? 
 
There is a screening process in place which effectively transfers 
persons identified by law enforcement authorities as victims of 
trafficking into protective state and/or NGO custody.  The 
 
ATHENS 00000504  002 OF 005 
 
 
Memorandum of Cooperation now formally allows police to cooperate 
with NGOs, which has resulted in 38 victims being transferred from 
the police to NGO shelters.  A problem still remains, however, in 
that NGOs report too many victims slip through the official police 
screening procedure and get sent to detention centers for 
deportation. 
 
With the entry into force on January 1, 2006 of the Immigration Law, 
which provides for the reflection period, police now have more 
flexibility to send victims to protective custody.  Police report 
using the government hotline to coordinate with NGOs on victim care. 
 In practice, the referral process operates most effectively when 
law enforcement officials are the first contact point for the 
victim.  When NGOs are the first contact point, NGOs report that 
victims are not always entered into the protection system, possibly 
because there are not   necessarily criminal charges associated with 
the case or because the NGO cannot convince the victim to seek 
protected status from the prosecutor or even because the is 
insufficient evidence for the victim to prove that she or he is in 
fact a trafficking victim and a negative conclusion by the 
prosecutor could leave the individual facing deportation charges 
with none of the protections afforded to recognized victims. 
 
-- D. Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims also 
treated as criminals?  Are victims detained, jailed, or deported? 
If detained or jailed, for how long?  Are victims fined?  Are 
victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as those 
governing immigration or prostitution? 
 
In the past, victims who were arrested for immigration violations or 
prostitution were sometimes tried alongside their traffickers. 
Greek law does not yet exclude TIP victims from prosecution, but the 
prosecutor can and does grant this reprieve on a case-by-case basis, 
and the GoG reports that prosecutors did so with any and all crimes 
the 83 TIP victims identified in 2006 had "committed."  The GoG 
reports that the Council of Europe Convention Against 
Trafficking in Human Beings which it signed on November 17, 
2005 stipulates that victims not be tried for crimes committed 
during the course of their victimization, so once the Convention is 
ratified this "loophole," which is avoided in practice, will be 
closed.  There were repeated complaints by NGOs that victims 
continue to be tried for crimes committed during their victimization 
along side their victimizers. 
 
-- E. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking?  May victims file 
civil suits or seek legal action against the traffickers?  Does 
anyone impede the victims' access to such legal redress? If a victim 
is a material witness in a court case against the former employer, 
is the victim permitted to obtain other employment or to leave the 
country? Is there a victim restitution program? 
 
The government's record on encouraging TIP victims to testify 
continues to be mixed.  As in the U.S., the process of granting 
victim status and receiving a victim's work/residency permit is put 
into motion when victims agree to cooperate with authorities in the 
prosecution of their traffickers.  Now that victims are being 
granted residency/work permits (MOI reports 39 issued or renewed in 
2006) and with other victims already legally resident in Greece, 
more victims may remain in the country to testify when their 
traffickers come to trial.  There is strong NGO support for some 
victims during court cases, and all NGO representatives who have 
been present at trials state that without such support, many victims 
would be emotionally unable to testify.  Prosecutors have told us 
informally that it would be illegal under Greek law to provide the 
proceeds of criminal enterprises to TIP victims. 
Traffickers have been released pending trial in order for the courts 
to "track down" witnesses in their home countries. 
 
-- F. What kind of protection is the government able to provide for 
victims and witnesses?  Does it provide these protections in 
practice?  What type of shelter or services does the government 
provide? Does it provide shelter or any other benefits to victims 
for housing or other resources in order to aid the victims in 
rebuilding their lives? Where are child victims placed (e.g. in 
shelters, foster-care type systems or juvenile justice detention 
 
ATHENS 00000504  003 OF 005 
 
 
centers)? 
 
The law on Organized Crime (2928/2001) provides for witness 
protection.  If the victim is a witness to a crime that is not 
organized crime, the MPO reports that the police will protect the 
victim with an order of the prosecutor.  In practice, NGOs report 
that some identified and sheltered victims receive threats from 
their traffickers and need better protection.  NGOs who run shelters 
did not complain of inadequate security or police protection 
provided to the shelter in 2006.  NGOs, especially those who do 
street work, victim support and/or attend trials, report that they 
were threatened by traffickers. 
 
Child victims are officially turned over to the prosecutor for 
children, but there are no specialized shelters for child TIP 
victims so they are typically sheltered in orphanages, in a separate 
section of an adult detention center or other state institutions. 
The bilateral agreement with Albania signed in February 2006 but not 
yet ratified by the Parliament details comprehensive child 
protections.  MFA officials assert that despite not yet being 
ratified, they are following the terms of the protocol in any 
instances of child repatriation.  In at least one adult detention 
center where children are kept, the children are held in cells, just 
as adults are. 
 
-- G. Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in recognizing trafficking and in the provision 
of assistance to trafficked victims, including the special needs of 
trafficked children?  Does the government provide training on 
protections and assistance to its embassies and consulates in 
foreign countries that are destination or transit countries?  Does 
it urge those embassies and consulates to develop ongoing 
relationships with NGOs that serve trafficked victims? 
 
The GOG provides anti-TIP training for police at all levels, 
including retraining and lifelong training of police personnel. 
Child anti-trafficking NGOs have presented information to police on 
the special needs of child trafficking victims independently and at 
the seminars noted above.  The MPO issued a directive to all police 
in December reinforcing how to recognize, question, and assist 
victims of TIP.  The MFA charges its embassies and consulates with 
some monitoring of source country NGOs that are partners with 
Hellenic Aid funded NGOs and therefore funding from the GoG and 
holds regular meetings with diplomatic representatives from TIP 
source countries in Athens. 
 
-- H. Does the government provide assistance, such as medical aid, 
shelter, or financial help, to its repatriated nationals who are 
victims of trafficking? 
 
Not applicable - Greece is not a source country for TIP victims. 
 
-- I. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work with 
trafficking victims?  What type of services do they provide?  What 
sort of cooperation do they receive from local authorities? 
 
--International Organization for Migration (IOM): coordination with 
the GoG on repatriation of victims; conducts seminars and trainings 
for authorities, NGOs, social workers, police prosecutors, and the 
diplomatic corps; creates public awareness programs; coordinates 
diplomatic/NGO/GoG "Working Group."  IOM has excellent cooperation 
with local authorities and receives GoG funding.  It signed the MOC 
with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--Stability Pact Thessaloniki Office (SPOT): Regional TIP 
initiatives, holding a regional organized crime conference, which 
included a TIP workshop. 
 
--European Network of Women (ENOW): multilingual victims' hotline, 
operation of a shelter including provision of food and clothing, 
psychosocial victim support, legal support and advocacy, family 
contact public awareness, lobbying.  ENOW has good cooperation with 
local authorities and receives GoG funding.  It signed the MOC with 
the Interministerial Council. 
 
--Greek Council for Refugees (GCR): legal support and advocacy, 
 
ATHENS 00000504  004 OF 005 
 
 
family contact, seminars and trainings.  GCR has good cooperation 
with local authorities, receives GoG funding, and signed the MOC 
with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--International Society for the Support of Families (DESO): 
operation of three shelters including provision of food and 
clothing, medical and psychological and psychiatric support, 
lobbying.  DESO has some cooperation with local authorities, 
received GoG funding and in-kind donation of the shelter buildings. 
DESO signed the MOC with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (CRTV): 
shelter, psychosocial and psychiatric support, legal support, 
lobbying.  CRTV has good, ad hoc cooperation especially with local 
police authorities, receives victim referrals directly from police, 
and is authorized GoG funding. 
 
--Nea Zoi/Association for the Support and Restoration of 
Individuals in Prostitution: street work, brothel visits, victim 
identification through street work and visits to detention centers, 
victim support, lobbying.  Nea Zoi plans to sign the MOC with the 
Interministerial Council in 2007. Nea Zoi attends "Working Group" 
meetings. 
 
--Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM): advocacy, Publications, lobbying. 
Poor relationship with GoG, outspoken critic of GoG efforts on TIP 
and other human rights issues. 
 
--Association for the Social Support of Youth (ARSIS): victim 
identification, coordination with Terre des Hommes in Albania on 
child victims, public awareness, lobbying, based in Thessaloniki. 
ARSIS has good cooperation with authorities and has done outreach to 
provincial police.  ARSIS receives GoG funding and will implement 
part of the $600,000 TACT project in Albania. ARSIS signed the MOC 
with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--Smile of the Child: shelters for primarily Greek children, public 
awareness, lobbying.  Excellent cooperation with authorities, signed 
the MOC with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--Center for Research and Support for Victims of Maltreatment and 
Social Exclusion (CVME or "EKYTHKA" in Greek): shelter, psychosocial 
and legal support to victims, lobbying.  Good cooperation with 
authorities, receives GoG funding, signed the MOC with the 
Interministerial Council. 
 
--Klimaka-Agency for the Development of Human and Social 
Capital: shelters, psychiatric and social support to victims, 
vocational training and activities in shelters, public awareness, 
lobbying.  Excellent cooperation with authorities; receives victim 
referrals directly from police, receives GoG funding, signed the MOC 
with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--Solidarity (NGO of the Greek Orthodox Church): shelter, excellent 
cooperation with authorities, received no GoG funding in 2006 signed 
the MOC with the Interministerial Council. 
 
--ACT UP: STD and HIV screening, street work, victim identification, 
support, and referral, lobbying.  Good cooperation with GoG despite 
criticism of GoG, receives GoG funding. 
 
--Mediterranean Women's Studies Center (KEGME): seminars and 
training for police personnel in Albania.  Receives GoG funding, and 
provides good cooperation with GoG. 
 
--European Constitution Law Center: training of justices in Albania 
with MFA funds 
 
--Human Rights Defense Center (KEPAD): coordination of 
Ariadne Regional Network, Greece/TIP working group at the UN. 
Excellent cooperation with GoG, receives GoG funding, signed MOC 
with Interministerial Council. 
 
--The International Police Association (IPA): training 
seminars for Serbian police on TIP. Excellent cooperation with 
authorities, (IPA members are Hellenic National Police), receives 
 
ATHENS 00000504  005 OF 005 
 
 
GoG funding, Qgned MOC with Interministerial Council. 
 
--Agapi: Thessaloniki-based social organization sponsored a 
TIP awareness-raising event for 200 members of the general public in 
February 2006.  GoG officials responsible for TIP, police, NGO reps, 
and others presented information on the TIP phenomenon to students 
and citizens. 
 
--STOP NOW: Formerly focused on public awareness-raising. 
While members still attend TIP-related meetings, such as the 
"Working Group," the NGO has no funding or current projects. Limited 
cooperation with GoG, signed MOC with 
Interministerial Council.  This NGO suspended action in 2006 because 
it did not receive any government funding. 
 
--Caritas Greece (NGO of the Catholic Church): Primarily works with 
refugees, feeding program, legal support. Caritas conducted a TIP 
public awareness poster campaign in 2006 with a picture of a young 
girl turned away and the message: "Trafficking: Don't turn your back 
on Modern-day Slavery... it is of immediate concern!!  Every year it 
is estimated that 700,000-4,000,000 people in the world are BOUGHT, 
SOLD, MOVED, AND IMPRISONED against their will!"  The poster also 
provided Caritas contact information. 
 
Other NGOs work on various TIP issues. 
 
TIP CONTACT 
----------- 
(U)  The Embassy's point of contact on TIP is political officer 
Patrick Connell.  Email: ConnellPD@state.gov, Tel: 
30-210-720-2551, Fax: 30-210-729-4307. 
 
RIES