Father, son arrested for human trafficking of 3 Armenian citizens in Ninotsminda
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A father and son have been arrested for human trafficking in Ninotsminda, a town in the southern Georgia region of Samtskhe-Javakheti which borders Armenia.
The border police of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and General Prosecutor’s Office of Samtskhe-Javakheti region say the detained father and son trafficked and subjected to forced labor three Armenian citizens.
In 2015-2016, the suspects invited three Armenian citizens to Georgia on promises of good working conditions, helped them compile the necessary paperwork and transported them in their own car.
Upon arriving in Georgia, the three victims were taken to a cattle farm, had their IDs confiscated and were forced into unpaid labor for the next few years. Their movement was restricted and the suspects allegedly monitored them around the clock, both in person and through surveillance cameras inside and outside the house where the victims were kept.
The incident came to the attention of the police when one of the captives managed to escape and attempted to cross the border to Armenia.
Human trafficking is punishable by 12-15 years in prison under the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Georgian police have detained a Russian citizen wanted under a red notice by Interpol. The Russian citizen, identified only as A.L., is accused of human trafficking, financial extortion, and engaging a minor in prostitution.
Seven individuals, including a mother and two doctors, have been detained by Georgian law enforcers for child trafficking. The detainees attempted to sell a newborn child for $13,000, the investigative department of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia reported today.The ministry reports that during pregnancy the detainees found an individual who wanted the child and was ready to pay the money.
The US Department of States has released its Trafficking in Persons report for 2020 in which Georgia remains in Tier 1, along with the US, UK, Switzerland and others, for fully meeting minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Georgia is the only Eastern Partnership state in Tier 1. “The Georgian government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore Georgia remained in Tier 1. These efforts included increasing overall prosecution and victim protection efforts."
A Georgian citizen arrested for human trafficking has been found dead at a temporary detention centre in Alexandroupolis, Greece, on May 28.
Police have detained 37-year-old Gela Chaladze, former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), for human trafficking in Tbilisi.