TAJIK POLICE ARREST HUMAN TRAFFICKER... Tajik police announced the arrest of two suspects on May 3 for involvement in human trafficking, marking the 26th such case in the Sughd region of the country, Avesta reported. A 45-year-old woman and another suspect were arrested in the northern Tajik town of Khujand. Sughd prosecutors said the woman is accused of having deceived a young female victim, sending her to the United Arab Emirates and demanding $10,000, and forcing her into prostitution. Another female suspect, sought by Tajik police since 2004, was extradited to Tajikistan from the United Arab Emirates, Asia-Plus reported on May 3. RG...AFTER TAJIK PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CONCERTED FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Chairing a cabinet meeting in Dushanbe, Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov on May 2 instructed his ministers and other senior officials to devote greater attention to efforts to counter human trafficking, Asia-Plus reported. Rakhmonov further called for the implementation of a recent five-year state program to focus on crimes related to human trafficking. Cooperation between Tajik and United Arab Emirates law-enforcement officials resulted in the return of about 45 Tajik victims of human trafficking in October. There are several thousand Tajik women estimated to have been victimized by traffickers and tricked into prostitution abroad (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 17, 2005). Human trafficking is an increasing problem for Central Asia, with several countries serving as both sources and transit states for young female victims. RG
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Published in: Tajik Police Arrest Human Trafficker...After Tajik President Calls for Concerted Fight against Human Trafficking, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 4 May 2006.