Ukrainian Prosecutors Say 13 Uzbek Workers Held in “Inhumane Conditions”
Prosecutors in Ukraine say they have detained four members of a human trafficking operation that exploited 13 Uzbek laborers and subjected them to humiliating treatment that included scheduled visits to the toilet.
Two Chinese citizens, an Uzbek national and a Ukrainian woman used coercion and deception to recruit vulnerable people with few resources outside Ukraine and move them to the Kyiv region for use in forced work for profit, the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office said on Thursday. Images provided by the office show the farm workers standing in front of greenhouse-like structures covered in plastic tarpaulins in a rural area. Other photos show the cramped, unsanitary conditions in which the men and women lived.
“To maintain control, the perpetrators used coercion and restrictions on freedom of movement, which indicates the exploitative nature of their actions,” the Ukrainian prosecutors said. “The victims were humiliated to the extreme: even visits to the toilet were allowed only according to a set schedule, and any minor violation was punished with fines.”
Ukrainian authorities said they searched the suspects’ residences and business sites on Wednesday, finding 13 Uzbek citizens who were being held in “inhumane conditions.”
Officials from the Uzbek embassy in Ukraine visited the greenhouse facility in the Kyiv region following the publication of reports in Ukrainian media about Uzbek citizens being treated as “slaves,” the embassy said on Friday.
“At present, it has been established that all our citizens are safe and in good health, and they have been placed in one of the local hospitals in the Kyiv region to receive the necessary medical treatment,” the embassy said.
It said steps are being taken to return the group to Ukraine, while noting that court proceedings are underway against the suspects. In a reference to the war against Russia, the embassy repeated guidance that Uzbek nationals should avoid travel to Ukraine because of safety concerns.
Under Ukrainian law, the four suspects could face long prison terms if convicted of human trafficking and other charges.
Glavcom, a Ukrainian news agency, said a 51-year-old Chinese citizen with a temporary residence permit in Ukraine was the head of the alleged human trafficking operation. The Uzbek workers were between the ages of 22 and 42 and had been offered high salaries to persuade them to go to Ukraine, an enticement that turned out to be false, according to Glavcom.
Once in Ukraine, the Uzbek nationals had to surrender their passports to their employers, the agency reported.
