Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Police break up Ukraine-Cyprus sex trafficking ring

Once, the Zaporizhian Sich was a headquarters for brave men who defended Orthodox Christianity, tried to free Ukrainian men, women and children from serfdom, and protected them against intruders (mostly from the Ottoman Empire) raiding Ukraine for slaves .

Today, this is what it's come to:

Authorities arrested the director of a local firm that enticed women to travel to and work as dancers in the Middle East. ...

One of the victims [said] that her passport and return ticket were confiscated ... while she was in Cyprus. The woman phoned back to Zaporizhya and filed a complaint against the female director of the firm. If convicted, the director faces up to twelve years behind bars. The firm has reportedly been in operation for the past two years.

At least, the culprit is facing the consequences. (Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, the Cossacks didn't allow women in the Sich.) Maybe, given that so many traffickers get off scott free, there is a tiny remnant of the old Cossack moral strength left in Zaporizhya.

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