By Stefanos Evripidou
THE HOUSE Human Rights Committee meeting has once again condemned the increasingly serious problem of human trafficking and prostitution in Cyprus, with AKEL deputy Eleni Mavrou and DISY’s Eleni Theocharous raising concerns that the problem of trafficking women in Cyprus was regularly being brought up at international conferences.
Cyprus is either seen as a final destination for human trafficking or a midway point to the Middle East, they declared.
Speaking on the subject, Theocharous told the Cyprus Mail that, “We are known, in female trafficking circles, either as a final destination point or a go-between on the way to the Middle East, usually the United Arab Emirates. The issue is raised at every international human rights conference or Council of Europe meeting,” she said.
“I have been investigating the matter for a year, and there is definitely a problem,” she added.
The deputy said most women brought here had no form of protection from the state because they were here illegally. “They are being blackmailed by the traffickers who keep their passports, restrict their movements and force them into prostitution,” said Theocharous.
Any attempt to make a formal complaint results in their immediate deportation. Asked whether courts could ask police to suspend deportation until after trial, she replied “The Attorney-general’s office refused to give information on this at the meeting.”information on the protection offered to women brought to Cyprus and actions taken against the culprits who often force them into a modern form of slavery, Theocharous said: “The police refused to give more details on the matter saying they didn’t have information, even though I have asked them several times. We don’t know who the traffickers are.
“The Legal Services, the police and immigration have been unable to give information on the matter which is why I will arrange another meeting with them but this time without the media present,” she added.
Since Tuesday’s Committee meeting, the DISY deputy has received many phone calls, some offering information, others making threats.
“There is no law to accuse traffickers of a crime. I hope to bring in a proposal next week to make it a crime punishable by the state. For this, we need the help of the Welfare Department to provide protection for victims of abuse and the collaboration of the police to enforce the law,” she said.
At the Committee meeting, the president of the Artistes’ Agents’ Association, Andreas Pirillos, blamed the problem on the uncontrolled number of women who come to Cyprus and either sign up as college students or work in bars and then move into prostitution. He also highlighted the problem of marriages of convenience. Pirillos said that of the 1,300 known cases of marriages of convenience, 900 happened in Aradippou municipality and from that number, 400 brides were artistes and 500 bar waiters.
The Mayor of Aradippou challenged the validity of these statistics on a radio programme yesterday.
Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou confirmed to Committee members that her office had dealt with the matter on a number of occasions. She agreed that women very often lived in harsh conditions and fell victim to abuse and blackmail with very little chance to testify against their oppressors before being deported.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
