ISRAEL: Court conviction a victory against sex slavery, but more needed

IRIN – Friday, 25 May 2012 (originally published 21 May)

UNODC says human trafficking for the sex trade appears to be getting worse. Image: Flare

TEL AVIV, 21 May 2012 (IRIN) – The arrest and imprisonment earlier this month of the head of Israel’s biggest trafficking ring of young women will deter some of those involved in sex slavery, but former victims and activists say much more needs to be done to stop the practice.

Rami Saban, who headed the largest trafficking operation discovered in Israel for years, received an 18-year jail sentence on 10 May. Saban and three partners are said to have trafficked thousands of young women from eastern Europe, although no one can provide the actual figure. Some 13 victims testified against him.

”They got rid of the plain ones and kept only the pretty and thin ones,” said T., one of those who gave evidence. “We were taken to a house somewhere, I don’t know where, and told to strip. They checked our bodies, our skin, birthmarks, scars. We were instructed about our `work’ here and given fake ID cards. Then they taught us a few words in Hebrew for work purposes, and took photos of us for a catalogue” . . .

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