Case Study: "Trafficked Latin" - #01

This morning I started following this case:

‘Denied a living wage and forced to have sex for 17euros’
By Alexia Saoulli
(archive article - Thursday, June 18, 2009)

A 36-YEAR-OLD woman from the Dominican Republic yesterday told the Nicosia Assize Court how she had been recruited under false pretences in her own homeland to work in a local cabaret.

Looking composed in the witness stand, the woman described in detail how she had allegedly been tricked into coming to Cyprus to work as a dancer with promises that the island was a stepping stone to Spain.

She said she paid an agent in her own country over €2,000 to make the necessary arrangements including securing a work contract, visa and airline ticket.

The 36-year-old said she had been told that her time in Cyprus would involve nothing more than dancing in the evenings and spending her free time at the beach. She was also promised a monthly salary of €600 plus commission for every drink bought by a client.

Once on the island, none of what she’d been promised by the woman who had allegedly arranged for her to come here materialised.

Forced to entertain clients seven days a week, sometimes for as long as 10 hours, the 36-year-old said she and the other girls never had a day off. Instead they earned €120 a week plus €1 for every drink they had with soldiers and €2 for every three drinks they had with ordinary customers.

Other than providing conversation for patrons they also allegedly had to perform erotic dances and offer their sexual services. Private dances, which occurred between 8pm and 10pm, involved having sex with clients on couches at the far end of the cabaret. The women received €17 for every private dance, she said.

The 36-year-old, who said she had been employed from April 8 until May 30 last year, said the first indication all was not as it seemed was on the first night.

“We were taken into the cabaret and told to sit down… It was around 10pm to 11pm… we became worried because some girls were sitting on top of some clients with very little clothes, dancing erotically,” she said.

Later that night the women, who had all arrived on the same flight from the Dominican Republic, were taken to their room which was above a bar adjacent to the cabaret and were locked in. The room was later unlocked by one of the female defendants who was also employed at the cabaret. The same defendant told her compatriots she was married to one of the male defendants, who the women thought was the cabaret manager, although in fact he is a waiter.

The 36-year-old said they were told the bar was called a ‘spa’. They were instructed to work there from 4pm to 6.30pm daily and have drinks with clients. The latter usually ended up in the cabaret when it opened at 8pm, the court heard.

Her story was frighteningly similar to the account given by a 31-year-old woman who worked in the same Nicosia cabaret. Both women are key prosecution witnesses in a case involving prostitution and trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.

The 36-year-old, who had shoulder length, dark hair and dark skin, was wearing a simple bright green collared T-shirt and jeans. She looked younger than her age while addressing the court through a Spanish speaking translator.

During the course of the morning, the witness named all the defendants and said they had been employed at the cabaret, with some playing more of an active role than others in allegedly pimping the women.

When she was asked to describe the trip to Cyprus including her first night at the cabaret, she was able to do so unfalteringly. Her voice turned to almost a whisper and appeared to become shaky when she was asked to describe two occasions she’d been “sold” for sex.

One time was during a private dance in the club and another was at a hotel near the cabaret in old Nicosia. Regarding the latter occasion she was somewhat sketchy about the details.

Asked why she had worked in the ‘spa’ and why she had agreed to have sex, the 36-year-old said she had been afraid to defy the bosses because she would be sent home.

“I had borrowed a lot of money to leave the country and if I had financial problems before they would magnify if I went back,” she said.

“[Defendant number 2] told me I had to go. It was more out of fear. If I said no I would be sent back to my country,” she whispered.

Yesterday’s hearing was not without disturbance with tempers running high as usual. When one of three defence lawyers was caught laughing during the witness’ testimony, the hearing took a turn for the worse and within minutes the situation spiralled out of control.

Initially the trial had gotten off to a good start with a seemingly calmer atmosphere than the day before. But this mood was short-lived and only half an hour into proceedings President of the Nicosia District Court Yiasemis Yiasemi was forced to call an extraordinary 20-minute recess when the same defence lawyer denied laughing and instructed the court not to raise its voice at him.

The accused are five Greek Cypriot men and a 26-year-old cabaret artiste from the Dominican Republic. The men are a 55-year-old cabaret manager, three cabaret waiters aged 66, 62 and 53, and a 55-year-old cabaret artiste agent. All six are connected to the cabaret where the 31-year-old was employed last year and deny the charges. If convicted they face a maximum sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment.

All six continue to work at the same cabaret.

The trial continues on June 23.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009