Children of the Stoplights: Part 5

This is the featured weekly post from Discarded Lies at Winds of Change.NET. The Children of the Stoplights series is about child trafficking in Europe. Here are parts one, two, three and four of Children of the Stoplights.

When a new law on trafficking in human beings was under discussion in Greece during 2002, there was a proposal that men paying for sex with trafficked women should be penalised. The proposal was rejected, reportedly on the grounds that too many men in the country engaged in commercial sex and would potentially be penalised. The law eventually adopted makes it an offence (punishable by six months’ imprisonment) to knowingly accept the services of a trafficked person. It was also made an offence to pay for sex with a child of any age, with the offence being considered more serious if the child concerned was under 15, and most serious if under 10. Terre des Hommes: Study on Child Trafficking (PDF)

The two girls' adventure began in September 1998, when a Romanian man, Katalin Morea, convinced them that there was a future in Athens and steady jobs in a café.

Morea handed the two girls over to a trafficker, Florin Abitsigae for a sum, and the two girls set off for Athens. Shortly before entering Greece, their papers and identity cards were taken from them. Florin took Gina and Camelia by bus to Florin's house in Voula, where they also "met" Albanian Ilia Toska.

Twelve-Hour Workday. They were placed at the “Mira Mare” hotel in Voula, from where they were taken daily to an apartment at 39 Vouliaghmenis masquerading as a "massage parlor". They were forced to "work" 12 hours a day, and the money they made was collected by Isavella Zouli. According to the indictment, the operation was headed by Greek national Sotiris Manis.

Police Officers - Clients. The charges pressed by the two girls brought to light a wide prostitution network that used apartments spread throughout Athens. In fact, the two girls worked in a "house" directly opposite the Glifadha Police Station, while officers serving at the police station are also defendants in the case as they were "clients who received special treatment". The case became known in early 1999. The inquiry was completed in the same year, charges were pressed and the defendants were arrested and released on restrictive conditions.
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Ioanna Kurtovic, attorney to the two young women, stated that the case is one of the most difficult cases of kidnapping and sexual exploitation of underage girls. The case involves a total of 27 defendants, including foreigners. All but three of the foreign defendants, meanwhile, have escaped abroad. Two of the key defendants, Ilias Toska and Isavella Zouli, remain in custody, while "middleman" Florin has disappeared. K. Adhamopoulos, who was commander of the Ghlifadha Police Station at the time, as well as police officer Stilianos Poulos have been indicted for dereliction of duty. Officer Konstandinos Sardhenes has been indicted as an accessory to rape.
Greek Helsinki Monitor