Cablegate: Major Tip Trial in Mannheim, Germany

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

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 007722

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SMIG KCRM KWMN ELAB PGOV GM
SUBJECT: Major TIP Trial in Mannheim, Germany

Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution

1. (U) SUMMARY: Criminal proceedings began recently in Mannheim
against six persons accused of trafficking approximately thirty
Romanian women into Germany in 2003 and 2004. The young women
were recruited with promises of employment as cooks and
babysitters, but allegedly were beaten and raped (in a number of
cases) and forced to work as prostitutes upon arrival in Germany.
END SUMMARY.

Who are the Traffickers?
------------------------

2. (SBU) Five men and one woman (ages twenty-eight to forty-
eight) have been charged in this case. Three of the group are
Romanian citizens, one is a German, and the other two are Turks.
The prosecutor's office in Mannheim characterized the three
Romanians as key members of the trafficking ring. The German
citizen is accused of prostituting the trafficked women -- as the
operator of two brothels in Erfurt (state of Thuringia) where
many of the women were ultimately forced to work.

No Money, No Way to Communicate, No Way Out
-------------------------------------------

3. (U) The Romanian women were brought to Germany between spring
2003 and 2004. They had been told they were going to work as
babysitters and cooks, but upon arrival in Germany were forced
into prostitution. The women found themselves in a situation in
which they had no money, no means to communicate or ask for help
(including language barriers), and no understanding of the local
legal system. Those who initially refused to work as prostitutes
were reportedly beaten and raped repeatedly. According to press
reports, one woman who refused to work was beaten, threatened
with death, and then taken to a party where she was gang-raped.

Court Proceedings in Mannheim
-----------------------------

4. (U) The trial just opened in Mannheim. Charges in the case
include rape, forced prostitution, trafficking in persons, and
illegal immigration. Eighteen additional court sessions are
scheduled through the end of November. Post is following the
case and will report further developments.

5. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin.

BODDE

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