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RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0070
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0110
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RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0308
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 ATHENS 000204 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, EUR/SE, EUR/PGI, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP PREF ASEC KCRM KFRD KWMN SMIG ELAB GR
SUBJECT:  Greece: 2009 TIP Report Submission - Part 2 of 4 
 
REF: 08 STATE 132759 
 
¶1.  (U) This document is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (U) This is the second of four cables.  The cable text is 
keyed to REFTEL paragraph 25 (INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF 
TRAFFICKERS). 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) For questions A-D, posts should highlight in particular 
whether or not the country has enacted any new legislation 
since the last TIP report. 
 
-- A. Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a law 
or laws specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both 
for sexual exploitation and labor?  If so, please specifically 
cite the name of the law(s) and its date of enactment and provide 
the exact language (actual copies preferable) of the TIP 
provisions. Please provide a full inventory of trafficking laws, 
including non-criminal statutes that allow for civil penalties 
against alleged trafficking crimes (e.g., civil forfeiture laws 
and laws against illegal debt). Does the law(s) cover both internal 
and transnational forms of trafficking?  If not, under what 
other laws can traffickers be prosecuted?  For example, are 
there laws against slavery or the exploitation of prostitution 
by means of force, fraud, or coercion? Are these other laws 
being used in trafficking cases? 
 
Since the last report, Greece ratified the bilateral Child 
Repatriation Agreement with Albania.  The agreement was ratified by 
Parliament in July 2008 and the protocol came into force of law in 
August 2008 (law 3692/2008).  The law provides for coordinated 
prosecution, trafficking prevention, victim identification, and 
repatriation between the two countries, with NGO involvement. 
However, the agreement has not yet been fully implemented in a 
systematic way.  (Preexisting cooperation between Albanian and Greek 
NGOs and law enforcement continues in an ad hoc manner.) 
 
Greek law 3064/2002, signed in October 2002, and Presidential Decree 
233/2003 specifically prohibit trafficking in persons for sex or 
labor inside or outside Greek territory, and are considered by NGO 
legal experts to be model pieces of anti-trafficking legislation. 
 
In 2005, Parliament passed a new immigration law (3386/2005), which, 
besides general immigration provisions, also provides for the 
centralized issuance and renewal of residence permits for TIP 
victims for no fee.  The law also provides for special care for 
minor victims a 30-day reflection period for victims, extendable for 
minors.    . 
 
The Law on Organized Crime (2928/2001), which applies to TIP cases 
with organized criminal involvement, expands the investigative 
capabilities of law enforcement and provides for witness 
protection. 
 
In 2004, the MOJ amended certain provisions of Presidential Decree 
233/2003.  The amended decree guarantees victim benefits from the 
provisions on protection, support and assistance, and also requires 
that NGOs be accredited to offer assistance during screening 
procedures and victim support. 
 
Other laws against pimping, illegal prostitution, violence, rape, 
exploitation, and coercion have been used in the past to combat TIP 
and are sufficient to cover the full scope of trafficking. 
 
Statutes exist providing for civil forfeiture penalties and 
punishing illegal debt.  NGOs and legal experts reported that such 
laws were almost never used in practice against traffickers, given 
the high cost of filing civil lawsuits and the inefficiency of civil 
courts (civil suits have been known to take decades to resolve). 
 
Greece has signed but still has not ratified the Council of Europe's 
 
ATHENS 00000204  002 OF 009 
 
 
Convention on Action against Trafficking. 
 
-- B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: What are the 
prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking people for sexual 
exploitation? 
 
Penalties for trafficking in persons for sexual or labor 
exploitation vary, but include incarceration for up to ten years and 
a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 euro (14,000 to 70,000 USD).  Offenders 
who exploit minors, exploit employees, or cause serious physical 
injury to victims face a minimum ten-year imprisonment and fine of 
50,000 to 100,000 euro (70,000 to 140,000 USD). 
 
Traffickers who kill their victims face life imprisonment.  Because 
felony trials usually require at least 5-6 years to fully make their 
way through the appeals process, there has not yet been a fully 
appealed conviction under the 2002 anti-trafficking law.  There are 
numerous ongoing trials. 
 
An NGO providing legal services to TIP victims noted that defense 
lawyers for traffickers often try to have their clients tried as 
pimps instead of traffickers.  The penalties for pimping are lower 
(up to five years in prison) compared to the 15-20 years given to 
convicted traffickers. 
 
-- C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are the 
prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for labor 
exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor?  If your country is a 
source country for labor migrants, do the government's laws provide 
for criminal punishment -- i.e. jail time -- for labor recruiters 
who engage in recruitment of workers using knowingly fraudulent or 
deceptive offers with the purpose of subjecting workers to 
trafficking in the destination country?  If your country is a 
destination for labor migrants, are there laws punishing employers 
or labor agents who confiscate workers' passports or travel 
documents for the purpose of trafficking, switch contracts without 
the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker in a state of 
service, or withhold payment of salaries as means of keeping the 
worker in a state of service? 
 
Greek law does not discriminate on the grounds of trafficking and 
thus anti-trafficking laws cover both trafficking for sexual and 
labor exploitation.  The penalties for both forms of trafficking are 
the same. 
 
-- D. What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible sexual 
assault? (NOTE:  This is necessary to evaluate a foreign 
government's compliance with TVPA Minimum Standard 2, which reads: 
"For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking . . . the 
government of the country should prescribe punishment commensurate 
with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault (rape)." 
 END NOTE) 
 
Penalties for rape and forcible sexual assault vary depending on the 
circumstances surrounding the crime and the damage to the victim, 
but range from five years to life imprisonment. The penalties 
compare appropriately to those for sex and labor trafficking. 
 
-- E. Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government prosecute any 
cases against human trafficking offenders during the reporting 
period?  If so, provide numbers of investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences imposed, including details on plea 
bargains and fines, if relevant and available.  Please note the 
number of convicted traffickers who received suspended sentences and 
the number who received only a fine as punishment. Please indicate 
which laws were used to investigate, prosecute, convict, and 
sentence traffickers.  Also, if possible, please disaggregate 
numbers of cases by type of TIP (labor vs. commercial sexual 
exploitation) and victims (children under 18 years of age vs. 
adults).  If in a labor source country, did the government 
criminally prosecute labor recruiters who recruit workers using 
knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or by imposing fees or 
commissions for the purpose of subjecting the worker to debt 
bondage?  Did the government in a labor destination country 
criminally prosecute employers or labor agents who confiscate 
workers' passports/travel documents for the purpose of trafficking, 
 
ATHENS 00000204  003 OF 009 
 
 
switch contracts or terms of employment without the worker's consent 
to keep workers in a state of service, use physical or sexual abuse 
or the threat of such abuse to keep workers in a state of service, 
or withhold payment of salaries as a means to keep workers in a 
state of service?  What were the actual punishments imposed on 
persons convicted of these offenses?  Are the traffickers serving 
the time sentenced?  If not, why not? 
 
Law enforcement statistics for 2008 were provided by the Hellenic 
Police (Ministry of the Interior, Department of Public Order) and 
the Ministry of Justice.  No breakouts of victim age or labor vs. 
commercial sexual exploitation were available.) 
 
INVESTIGATIONS:  The police conducted 40 human trafficking 
investigations (41 in 2007).  37 were investigations of sexual 
exploitation, two of labor exploitation, and one of trafficking for 
human organs.  (In 2007, 29 were investigations of sexual 
exploitation, 11 of labor exploitation, and one illegal adoption.) 
14 of the cases were liked to organized criminal networks (17 in 
2007). 
 
ARRESTS:  162 persons were arrested and charged under articles 323A 
(Trafficking in Persons) and 351 (Trafficking for Prostitution). 
This is a 34 percent increase above the 121 arrests in 2007. 
 
Country breakdown of arrested persons:  70 from Greece, 32 from 
Romania, 13 from Albania, 10 from Bulgaria, 7 from Russia, 6 from 
Nigeria, 4 from Moldova, 3 from Lithuania, 2 from India, 2 from 
Syria, and 1 each from Colombia, Georgia, Great Britain, Iran, Iraq, 
Kazakhstan, Latvia, Poland, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan, 
Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 
 
CONVICTIONS:  Convictions were reported under two different laws: 
Articles 323A (Trafficking in Persons) and 351 (Trafficking for 
Prostitution).  In total, there were 79 first and second-instance 
court decisions, with 21 convictios, 17 acquittals, and 41 
postponements.  (In he previous year, 121 court decisions were 
reorted.) 
 
First Instance Court Decisions: 
 
Aricle 323A: 3 convictions, 2 acquittals, 1 postponement.  2 
convictions were appealed. 
Article 351:  6 convictions, 9 acquittals, 27 postponements.  6 
convictions were appealed. 
 
Second Instance (Appeals) Court Decisions: 
 
Article 323A: 2 convictions, no acquittals, 3 postponements. 
Article 351: 10 convictions, 6 acquttals, 10 postponements. 
 
SENTENCES:  Only on suspended sentence was reported by the Ministry 
of Justice for 2008, at the second instance (appeals) court level. 
(NOTE: The number of sentences listed may differ from the number of 
case convictions, since each case may cover multiple individuals. 
END NOTE.) 
 
First Instance Court Sentences: 
 
Article 323A: 3 convictions. 
-- 6 years. 
-- 11 years.  60,000 euro (84,000 USD) fine.  Deprivation of "civil 
rights" for 2 years. 
-- 1 year. 
 
Article 351: 6 convictions. 
-- 5 years. 
-- 14 years.  70,000 euro (98,000 USD) fine. 
-- 12 years.  70,000 euro (98,000 USD) fine. 
-- 6 years.  20,000 euro (28,000 USD) fine. 
-- 8 years.  30,000 euro (42,000 USD) fine. 
-- 7 years.  15,000 euro (21,000 USD) fine. 
-- 5 years, 6 months. 
 
Second Instance (Appeals) Court Sentences: 
 
 
ATHENS 00000204  004 OF 009 
 
 
Article 323A: 2 convictions. 
-- 7 years 
-- 16 years and 9 months 
 
Article 351: 10 convictions. 
-- 6 years and 1 month. 20,500 euro (28,700 USD) fine. 
-- 7 years and 2 months. 40,000 euro (56,000 USD) fine. 
-- 10 years and 3 months. 52,000 euro (72,800 USD) fine. 
-- 12 years.  7,000 euro (9,800 USD) fine. 
-- 7 years. 12,000 euro (16,800 USD) fine. 
-- 5 years and 6 months. 2,000 euro (2,800 USD) fine. 
-- 7 years and 30,000 euro (42,000 USD) fine. 
-- 2 years and 6 months. 
-- 1 year and 6 months, suspended for 3 years. 
-- 16 years. 
-- 5 years. 
 
Statistics on criminals currently serving jail time on trafficking 
charges were unavailable. 
 
NGOs and experts on trafficking law stated that Greek law 
enforcement, prosecutors, and courts, especially at the appeals 
level, need to reduce the number of suspended sentences given to 
traffickers and complicit officials and make sure jail time is 
served.  (NOTE:  Ministry of Justice statistics indicate that courts 
only issued one suspended sentence for trafficking in 2008.  END 
NOTE.)  Traffickers continue to be released on bail pending appeal, 
giving them an opportunity to re-establish contact with their 
victims and resume criminal activity. 
 
SELECTED LAW ENFORCEMENT CASE EXAMPLES: 
 
PETROS KOGALIDIS CASE:  This case is an example, from Northern 
Greece, of a trafficker who resumed his criminal activities after a 
long-term release on bail pending appeal.  In 2005, Kogalidis was 
sentenced to 13 years in prison by the First Instance Court of 
Kavala, but he appealed his case and was released on bail 
approximately a month after his initial conviction.  The Appeals 
Court of Komotini postponed his appeals trial twice; from February 
2007 to March 2008 and subsequently to March 2009.  Over the last 
two years, NGO contacts report that Kogalidis has expanded his 
business, using EU and Greek government funds aimed at developing 
the region, and is now running a hotel near his previous bar in 
Milopotamos, in the prefecture of Drama.  In 2008, the police 
referred four female prostitutes working in the hotel to the EKYTHKA 
(Center for Victims of Abuse and Social Exclusion), an NGO, for 
assistance.  Police are investigating the case involving the four 
women. 
 
OPERATION "WHITE BREAD":  This case is a success story of the 
Anti-Trafficking Unit's efforts to tackle trafficking networks in 
Greece.  Operation White Bread involved INTERPOL and EUROPOL 
investigators and spanned more than a year.  On November 9, 2008, 
police fanned out across Athens and arrested 15 suspected 
traffickers, taking 18 women -- all of them potential victims of 
sexual exploitation -- into protective custody.  The operation was 
named "White 
Bread" after police discovered that the suspected ringleader used a 
chain of bakeries to launder his illicit proceeds.  The trafficking 
victims had been recruited from as far away as Siberia and were 
lured to Greece expecting to be highly-paid club dancers.  Instead, 
the women were coerced into prostitution, deprived of their travel 
documents, and threatened with physical harm.  Trials for the 
suspects are pending. 
 
DECEMBER 2008 ANTI-TRAFFICKING OPERTION:  This case is another 
example of a law nforcement success against traffickers.  Thisoperation took place from December 3-6 and invoved eight regional 
police divisions throughou the country, with 50 police officers 
taking part in Athens alone.  Directed by the Anti-Trafficking 
Police, the operation targeted a sex trafficking organization that 
recruited women throughout Eastern Europe.  Pretending to offer 
waitress jobs in Greece, the organization used employment agencies 
based in Russia to facilitate the victims' travel to Greece, where 
they were forced into stripping and prostitution and threatened with 
physical harm.  Police arrested 17 suspects (most of them Greek 
 
ATHENS 00000204  005 OF 009 
 
 
nationals) and rescued 6 victims, 5 of whom were granted official 
status as victims of trafficking (one case was pending).  In 
addition, the investigation netted two wanted fugitives, one of whom 
had previously been sentenced to 59 years in prison and had been on 
the run for 10 years.  Major Georgios Vanikiotis, commander of the 
Anti-Trafficking Police, said that this operation involved 
unprecedented cooperation between his Athens-based unit, regional 
police divisions, and prosecutors. 
 
¶F. Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute 
instances of trafficking? Specify whether NGOs, international 
organizations, and/or the USG provide specialized training for host 
government officials. 
 
The government provided a significant amount of specialized training 
for government officials on anti-trafficking techniques, victim 
recognition, and prosecutorial strategy.  The training was provided 
by a combination of government experts and IO / NGO representatives. 
 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also provided 
specialized police training on investigation strategies, witness 
interview techniques, and victim identification. 
 
The Hellenic Police includes regular anti-trafficking training in 
its police academies, led by NGOs and experts from the 
Anti-Trafficking Unit.  Police officers report that some of the most 
effective training includes testimonies by trafficking victims 
willing to share their stories, who describe their experiences 
directly to cadets.  Police commanders throughout the country also 
receive refresher training on TIP issues.  The MFA and IOM provide 
specialized training to prosecutors, judges, labor inspectors, 
health professionals, and diplomatic and consular officers. 
 
SPECIFIC 2008 TRAINING EXAMPLES: 
 
-- In early 2008, the General Secretariat for Gender Equality, in 
cooperation with IOM, completed an anti-trafficking and domestic 
abuse training project for local authorities and NGOs in 10 cities 
throughout Greece. 
 
-- IOM organized educational seminars for over 300 professors, local 
officials, social workers, and students in Patras and in Crete, 
focusing on sex and labor exploitation. 
 
-- In June 2008, the Ministry of Employment and IOM provided 
training to labor inspectors on victim identification, labor 
exploitation, and trafficker profiling.  The conference was held in 
Alexandroupoli and was attended by 120 labor inspectors. 
 
-- IOM, under the EU "EQUAL" initiative and the Greece-led ASPIDDA 
trafficking partnership network, provided two trafficking 
information seminars to graduates and students of the National 
School of Public Administration.  Many of the attendees were 
government officials. 
 
-- In November 2008, IOM, funded by the Ministry of Justice and 
Hellenic Aid, provided a two-day training course to the Greek 
Association of Prosecutors and ten prosecutors from neighboring 
countries.  The training focused on transnational organized crime, 
trafficking, and narcotics, and was held in the city of Volos. 
(This session was one of a series of prosecutorial training 
conferences hosted by IOM over the last three years.) 
 
POLICE-SPECIFIC TRAINING: 
 
-- In September 2008, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
provided training to the Anti-Trafficking Police, focusing on on 
investigation strategies, witness interview techniques, and victim 
identification. 
 
-- Four Greek police officers attended a New York-based workshop, 
"Policing Across Borders," which included material on trafficking 
and was hosted by John Jay College. 
 
-- Greek police attended anti-trafficking conferences hosted by 
various European organizations:  EUROPOL, Italy's Ministry of the 
 
ATHENS 00000204  006 OF 009 
 
 
Interior, the Academy of European Law in Trier, Germany, and the 
Network of Transborder Cooperation in Edirne, Turkey. 
 
-- The Anti-Trafficking Police reported that they had begun 
providing specialized training to its officers on court testifying 
techniques.  Better-trained testifying officers has led to stronger 
cases against traffickers, according to the police, and even if the 
victim is unable to testify or has left Greece, prosecutors can 
still pursue a case using trained officers as witnesses. 
 
--G. Does the government cooperate with other governments in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases?  If possible, 
provide the number of cooperative international investigations on 
trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
Greece is a leader in promoting increased regional law enforcement 
cooperation, especially in the Balkans.  During the reporting 
period, Greek police force continued taking part in joint 
initiatives in EUROPOL, INTERPOL, the Southeast European Cooperative 
Initiative (SECI), the Black Sea Initiative, and other international 
law enforcement organizations.  Greek police have good ongoing 
bilateral cooperation with neighboring countries' police forces. 
Police personnel from Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria meet 
regularly and on an ad-hoc basis to address passport controls, 
combat illegal immigration, and to tackle trafficking in persons, 
narcotics, and arms smuggling.  The Hellenic Police have liaison 
personnel in Italy, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Turkey, Albania, Russia, 
Ukraine, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia-Montenegro, 
Romania and Lebanon to further enhance police cooperation. 
 
In 2008, the Anti-Trafficking Police specifically reported 
cooperating with the following countries on domestic, regional, and 
international anti-trafficking cases:  Germany, Russia, Czech 
Republic, Albania, Bulgaria.  According to the police, the EU 
accessions of Bulgaria and Romania have significantly enhanced law 
enforcement cooperation. 
 
Over the last three years, the MOJ, MFA, and IOM have hosted a 
series of anti-trafficking training conferences for Greek 
prosecutors.  In November 2008, the training invited prosecutors 
from neighboring countries for the first time and discussed best 
practices and cross-border legal cooperation to address human and 
narcotics trafficking. 
 
-- H. Does the government extradite persons who are charged with 
trafficking in other countries?  If so, please provide the number of 
traffickers extradited during the reporting period, and the number 
of trafficking extraditions pending. In particular, please report on 
any pending or concluded extraditions of trafficking offenders to 
the United States. 
 
According to law, the Greek Government can extradite persons charged 
with trafficking to other countries.  Greek citizens can be 
extradited to EU countries that are parties to the "EU arrest 
warrant," but are protected from extradition to certain countries. 
For example, Greek nationals are protected from extradition to the 
United States based on article 8 of the 1931 extradition treaty.  In 
practice, the government does not extradite Greek nationals to the 
U.S. 
 
The MFA reported that in 2008, the Greek government extradited two 
Albanian citizens back to Albania to face human trafficking charges. 
 We are unaware of any pending extraditions. 
 
-- I. Is there evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of 
trafficking, on a local or institutional level?  If so, please 
explain in detail. 
 
There is no evidence of government involvement in trafficking on an 
institutional level.  Anecdotal reports by NGOs and the media 
reported that some corruption existed among the local police and 
"vice squad" officers, who took small bribes from traffickers, 
demanded free sexual services from prostitutes / victims of sex 
trafficking, or patronized establishments implicated in TIP.  NGOs 
and some media reports have also alleged that corruption exists in 
the Greek consular service, since most victims of sex trafficking 
 
ATHENS 00000204  007 OF 009 
 
 
come to Greece with legitimate visas - often obtained without 
personal interviews or documentary evidence. 
 
The MFA noted that it took strong action to combat consular fraud 
and malfeasance, including the following measures: frequent 
inspections by the MFA General Inspector, rotating consular officers 
to prevent the establishment of corruption relationships, and 
coordination with other Schengen countries on malfeasance cases. 
 
We are unaware of any new cases of government officials' complicity 
in trafficking for 2008. 
 
-- J. If government officials are involved in trafficking, what 
steps has the government taken to end such participation?  Please 
indicate the number of government officials investigated and 
prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related 
corruption during the reporting period.  Have any been convicted? 
What sentence(s) was imposed?  Please specify if officials received 
suspended sentences, or were given a fine, fired, or reassigned to 
another position within the government as punishment.  Please 
indicate the number of convicted officials that received suspended 
sentences or received only a fine as punishment. 
 
For 2008, we are unaware of any new cases of government officials 
involved in trafficking. 
 
The government provided comprehensive updates on the three sets of 
complicity cases reported in the 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report 
for Greece: 
 
2005 POLICE COMPLICITY CASE (SAPES):  The 2008 TIP Report had the 
following text on this case:  "Three police officers, two of them 
senior, charged with trafficking complicity in 2005 have still not 
been brought to trial."  This case, originally reported in 08 
THESSALONIKI 23, concerned the mayor of the town of Sapes, a local 
night club owner, and the town's police chief and two of his 
deputies, who were implicated in a scheme issuing fraudulent 
documents to hundreds of foreigners in the area.  These documents 
were then used to receive legal residence permits; some of the 
recipients were female sex workers in a nearby night club. 
 
In November 2008, the ex-mayor of Sapes, N. Haritopoulos, was given 
an 18-month sentence, suspended for three years.  The MFA reported 
in early 2009 that five other individuals prosecuted in this case 
received the following punishments from the second instance 
(appeals) court:  Mr. Tsakiri, 7 years 10 months, with the option to 
commute sentence at 5 euro per day; Mr. Mukshieva, Mr. Moustafa, and 
Mr. Efstathopoulos, 4 years and 1 month, with the option to commute 
sentence at 5 euro per day.  (We are unaware of whether the 
defendants actually served jail time or paid the commutation fine.) 
As for the three police officers, the following punishments were 
meted out: Mr. Oroilidi, a suspended 22-month sentence; Mr. 
Vamvakero, a suspended 17-month sentence, and Mr. Angelakopoulos, a 
suspended 11-month sentence.  The three policemen have appealed 
their decisions to the Supreme Court and the trial date is pending. 
(NOTE: These names are not for public release. END NOTE.) 
 
2006 RAPE OF BULGARIAN VICTIM:  The 2008 TIP Report had the 
following text on this case: "According to Amnesty International, in 
April 2006, the Greek government charged two officers and a guard 
with raping a Bulgarian trafficking victim after the apprehension of 
her traffickers."  In early 2009, the MFA provided the following 
update (edited for clarity) on this case: 
 
"In 2006, a female Bulgarian victim of forced prostitution in 
Ialyssos, Rhodes accused local police of raping her while she was in 
police custody pending a deportation order.  While in custody, the 
woman told the police that her employer had forced her into 
prostitution and withheld her passport.  She also criticized two 
policemen and complained about dirty conditions in police detention 
and demanded a place to take a bath.  She was led to the apartment 
of one of the two policemen and one of them raped her and threatened 
her not to reveal what had taken place.  She was then taken back to 
the police station where she was raped again by the same police 
officer for two days in a row. 
 
 
ATHENS 00000204  008 OF 009 
 
 
The three policemen involved in this case were suspended from duty 
and referred to the First Degree Police Disciplinary Council of 
Athens, which decided to dismiss all of the officers.  The 
lowest-ranking officer was dismissed, while the other two policemen 
internally appealed the Council's decision.  The Second Degree 
Police Disciplinary Council's decision was postponed until late 
February 2009 pending criminal charges filed against the officers. 
All three officers will face a jury court trial before the Court of 
Kos, scheduled for February 2009, on charges of breach of duty, 
abuse of authority, repeated rape, and complicity in rape. 
 
Soon after the incident, the Bulgarian victim came to Athens and 
requested assistance from the Bulgarian Embassy, which in turn 
referred her to IOM.  IOM arranged to have her visit a shelter run 
by Solidarity, a faith-based NGO, accompanied by a representative of 
the Bulgarian Embassy and a lawyer of her choosing.  However, the 
victim announced to Bulgarian authorities that she wanted to return 
to Bulgaria for a while to see her son, and that she would return to 
Greece in the future.  She refused IOM's assistance for protected 
repatriation." 
 
ALLEGATIONS OF CONSULAR COMPLICITY:  The 2008 TIP Report had the 
following text on this case: "The government is investigating two 
specific consular cases that occurred during the reporting period, 
but has not provided information about the results of these 
investigations."   In early 2009, the MFA provided an update on 
their investigations into each case. 
 
In Kiev, Ukraine, a Greek consular employee (not a member of the 
official diplomatic or consular corps) was discovered conducting 
illegal visa-related malfeasance.  His case was brought to a first 
instance court and in 2006 he was given a 21-year sentence.  He 
appealed the conviction and his second instance trial is scheduled 
for February 2009.  He has remained in jail in Thessaloniki without 
bail. 
 
In Korca, Albania, the Greek Consul General was investigated on 
allegations that he was involved in a trafficking network.  After an 
investigation by the MFA Inspector General and a subsequent sworn 
administrative inquiry, his complicity was not proven.  Nonetheless, 
the MFA removed him from his post during the same year (2007) and 
several of his administrative personnel were also transferred. 
 
-- K. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? Specifically, are 
the activities of the prostitute criminalized?  Are the activities 
of the brothel owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers 
criminalized?  Are these laws enforced?  If prostitution is legal 
and regulated, what is the legal minimum age for this activity? 
Note that in countries with federalist systems, prostitution laws 
may be under state or local jurisdiction and may differ among 
jurisdictions. 
 
Prostitution and brothel ownership are legal and regulated by the 
state.  However, the government admits and NGO contacts report that 
few of the brothels in Athens and Thessaloniki have valid licenses. 
For a variety of reasons, including not wanting to grant official 
approval to a red-light district within the city, neither the Greek 
government nor city governments have addressed these unlicensed 
facilities and unlicensed prostitutes nor enforced a law that 
prohibits their presence near a school or church.  According to the 
law, prostitutes must register at the local prefectural office and 
carry a medical card that is updated every two weeks.  The minimum 
age is 18, according to Article 6 of law 1193/81. 
 
In Thessaloniki, Police Colonel Kelidis, Economic Crimes Unit, 
insisted that all 18 of the city's brothels that operate regularly 
are licensed and under constant police supervision.  He claimed the 
same applied to another 54 brothels that are only open for part of 
the year.  However, NGOs and other contacts in the Hellenic Police 
and government admitted that most of the prostitution that occurs in 
Greece is illegal and unlicensed, and prostitutes work through 
newspaper ads, as private operators, in bars, in strip clubs, or on 
the streets. 
 
NGOs report that, in practice, penalties for unlicensed sex workers 
vary, depending on which police unit is making the check.  If 
 
ATHENS 00000204  009 OF 009 
 
 
detained by the "vice squad," unlicensed sex workers are typically 
arraigned in an expedited court proceeding, assessed a fine, and 
then released.  The Aliens Police, responsible for enforcing 
migration laws, can detain unlicensed sex workers without legal 
residency on immigration violations.  This can result in detention 
of up to three months in a migration detention center. 
 
-- L. For countries that contribute troops to international 
peacekeeping efforts, please indicate whether the government 
vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced 
nationals of the country deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping 
or other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated severe forms 
of trafficking or who exploited victims of such trafficking. 
 
During the reporting period, there were no reported incidents or 
investigations of Greek soldiers deployed to peacekeeping missions 
engaged in, facilitating, or exploiting victims of trafficking. 
 
-- M. If the country has an identified problem of child sex tourists 
coming to the country, what are the countries of origin for sex 
tourists?  How many foreign pedophiles did the government prosecute 
or deport/extradite to their country of origin?  If your host 
country's nationals are perpetrators of child sex tourism, do the 
country's child sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial coverage 
(similar to the U.S. PROTECT Act) to allow the prosecution of 
suspected sex tourists for crimes committed abroad?  If so, how many 
of the country's nationals were prosecuted and/or convicted during 
the reporting period under the extraterritorial provision(s) for 
traveling to other countries to engage n child sex tourism? 
 
Greece is not a destinaion country for child-sex tourism, and there 
ere no reports of foreign pedophiles coming to Greece.  We are 
aware of anecdotal, unconfirmed reports of Greek citizens traveling 
to southeast Asian countries (such as Thailand) for child-sex 
tourism.  However, we are unaware of any prosecutions of Greek 
citizens for this offense. 
 
Article 323 B of the Greek Penal Code was modified to conform with 
the optional protocol of the UN Convention (54263/25/00) on the 
Rights of the Child referring to trafficking of children, child 
prostitution and child pornography.  This and other provision of law 
2101/92 make explicit reference to combating sex tourism. 
 
According to the Anti-Trafficking Police, Greek law has 
extraterritorial coverage for trafficking as well as child-sex 
tourism crimes. 
 
¶4.  (U) Greece 2009 TIP Report Submission continued SEPTEL. 
 
SPECKHARD