Human Trafficking Crimes Before the Courts: In the Shadow of Prosecution


2018-09-18    |   


ِEditor’s note: In 2018, The Legal Agenda conducted a study on the human trafficking cases that were pending before or examined by the various examining bodies in the two criminal courts of Beirut and Baabda in 2016 and 2017. The study involved analyzing the judicial documents pertaining to these cases to form a preliminary idea about how Lebanon’s anti-human trafficking law has been applied since its issuance in 2011, particularly after the “Chez Maurice” ring was apprehended in 2016. The important questions that we shall address in this article include, what types of human trafficking cases reach the courts? What is the nature (e.g., organized, transnational, or otherwise) and magnitude of the crimes tried? And who are the victims and the accused?

The study sample comprised 34 human trafficking cases. According to what the heads of the registries of the two criminal courts in Beirut and Baabda told us based on case records, these were all the cases pending or examined [during the period in question]. The prosecution and investigation in these cases began between 2012 and 2017. The cases encompass 102 people charged with various crimes. Among them were 17 victims, most of whom were charged with clandestine prostitution. The victims not prosecuted numbered 54. As of the end of March 2018, rulings have been issued concerning 36 people in 19 of these cases, while 66 people were still being tried in 15 cases.

 

The Type of Human Trafficking Crimes before Courts

Cases of sexual exploitation of women in prostitution (17 cases) were the most prevalent in the sample. In second place were cases of exploiting Syrian children in begging (15 cases). Beyond these two types of crimes, there were only two cases, one pertaining to recruiting men from Bangladesh to work in Lebanon and the other pertaining to illegal adoption (i.e. selling and buying children). The Indictment Division that examined these latter two cases deemed that they involved human trafficking.

As for the nature of the crimes prosecuted, few involved human trafficking rings, organized crime, or even transnationality. We found indications that the crime was of an organized nature in only seven cases (four pertaining to prostitution and three to begging). The main indicators from which we deduced that the crime was organized include the existence of three or more accused persons working in concert and the charging of persons known in the field of prostitution rings whose names appear in multiple judicial cases, which indicates regular criminal activity spanning a period of time. These indicators are derived from the definition found in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000, which Lebanon ratified.[1]

One of the most prominent of these cases of sexual exploitation is the case of the “Chez Maurice” ring, where “girls were lured from Syria to Lebanon” and delivered to the person accused of running the ring so that they could be exploited in the Chez Maurice and Silver nightclubs. Twenty-six people were charged and at least 27 victims were identified. In another case, three Lebanese men from the same family were charged for “forming a professional ring that exploits the prostitution of girls as part of a fully functional business” without any victim being identified or interviewed.

Regarding the begging cases, it is striking that in most of them (13) only one individual who seemed to be working alone was charged. While no more than two children were exploited in most of the cases, in many the accused was a parent of the exploited child (11 fathers and three mothers). In one case, four people (three of whom were parents of the victims) were charged with exploiting four children. The Indictment Division found that this exploitation was of an organized nature, having deemed that the accused woman who was unrelated to the children supervised and administered it. We also observed a link between two cases: a man who stood accused alongside a victim’s father in one case stated that he also monitors children for another father, which led to the latter’s prosecution in a second case and could indicate the existence of an exploitation ring.

As for the extent to which these crimes were transnational, it appears that in just seven cases, women were transported from other countries (Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine) to Lebanon or from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates to be exploited in prostitution. On the other hand, we found no indication of transnationality in the cases of exploitation in begging. Although all the children in these cases were Syrian, there is no evidence that any of them were transported from Syria to Lebanon to be exploited in begging. Additionally, the victims in a case of recruiting foreign workers from abroad were transported from Bangladesh to Lebanon. The child who fell victim to illegal adoption was also transported from Lebanon to Saudi Arabia.

 

Human Trafficking Crimes Absent from Courts

The most important thing revealed by this sample is the absence of the forms of exploitation most prevalent in Lebanese society, particularly exploitation in forced labor and exploitation arising from and facilitated by legal regulations, from the courts. The one case included in the study that pertained to bringing men from Bangladesh to Lebanon to work did not actually aim to punish the exploitation of foreigners in forced labor in Lebanon. Rather, it aimed to punish middlemanning in foreign recruitment, which ultimately facilitates informal freelance work as opposed to working under the sponsorship system – a system that opens the door wide for exploiting foreigners in forced labor.

Hence, it appears that the application of the anti-human trafficking law issued in 2011 has not yet reduced the obstacles preventing many victims of economic and sexual exploitation from accessing justice. The most important forms of exploitation  that the sample contained no trace of include:

1) Exploitation of migrant workers in forced labor. This exploitation arises in particular from the subjection of migrant workers of the third and fourth categories to the sponsorship system. The latter category, which consists of domestic workers, remains the most vulnerable to this exploitation because they must reside in the employers’ homes and are excluded from the Labor Code’s protection.

The Anti-Human Trafficking and Morals Protection Bureau’s statistics for 2015 to 2017 show that at least two cases pertaining to the exploitation of a domestic worker were investigated.[2] In the first, a Lebanese man was investigated in 2016 based on information on social media about “a maid for sale due to travel”. He was released in exchange for proof of residence. In the second, a Lebanese woman was investigated in 2017 on suspicion of exploiting a Togolese woman in domestic work. The worker received her identification papers and returned to Togo. We were not able to find out the outcomes of the investigations in these cases, specifically whether the Public Prosecution charged the two aforementioned people.

General Security’s statistics for 2013 to 2017 show that 150 domestic workers who were potential victims of human trafficking were referred to the “safe house” administered by Caritas as a result of complaints about the following:[3] nonpayment of wages, physical violence (torture, beating, stabbing, abuse, and threats), sexual exploitation (rape, forced prostitution, and harassment), confinement, pregnancy, abortion, illness, child labor, mistreatment, overwork, multiplicity of sponsors, employment for the wrong purpose, and prevention from contacting family. Twenty-seven cases were referred to the judiciary, including cases of nonpayment of wages. We were not able to find out the outcomes of the investigations in these cases or whether the sponsors were charged and for what crimes. Most of these women left Lebanon and have been banned from returning. General Security issued “subjugation warrants” against the sponsors in 13 cases.[4]

2) Exploitation of foreign women working in adult entertainment. This exploitation arises from the subjection of women working in the leisure industry to the system of “artist” visas. This system imposes severe restrictions on their freedom of movement: the club owners retain their passports and General Security forces them to reside in specific hotels under its surveillance. Hence, “artists” remain among the women most vulnerable to sexual exploitation, violence, and isolation in Lebanon.

According to the US Department of State’s annual reports on combating human trafficking, Lebanon issued 3,400 “artist” visas to women in 2014, more than 5,000 in 2015, more than 11,000 in 2016, and more than 10,000 in 2017.[5] These figures show an increase in visas and, hence, in the number of women subject to this system – a system that opens the door wide for exploitation. The reports also indicate that General Security investigated 14 cases of exploitation of these women in 2016, and four of these cases were referred to the Public Prosecution for further investigation. We were not able to ascertain their outcomes.

General Security’s statistics pertaining only to 2017 show that 15 “artists”, who were potential victims of human trafficking, were investigated as a result of complaints about the following: nonpayment of wages, deception about the type of work, abduction, sexual harassment, forced prostitution, dissonance with the nature of the work, drug use, indecent acts, and “flight”. Only one of these cases was referred to the judiciary, and we were unable to learn its outcome. Most of these women left Lebanon and have been banned from returning.

3) Exploitation of children in forced labor in agriculture. While the Anti-Human Trafficking and Morals Protection Bureau’s statistics do not mention investigating cases of exploiting children in forced labor, it has become evident that General Security, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, has begun playing the primary role in this area. General Security’s statistics indicate that its investigations encompassed 36 potential victims of child trafficking for forced labor in 2017 (29 Lebanese children and seven Syrian). In all these cases, reports were prepared and referred to the Ministry of Labor, with the judiciary appearing to play no role in this area.

 

Who Are the Victims of Human Trafficking?

The sample encompassed 71 identified victims of human trafficking. Additionally, the judicial documents referred to 13 victims who remain anonymous, including the child who fell victim to illegal adoption and six men from Bangladesh brought to Lebanon to work. The victims also remained completely anonymous in one of the cases pertaining to a prostitution ring.

The number of human trafficking victims in Lebanon is probably higher as Internal Security’s statistics for 2015 to 2017 show that many victims were not identified, which casts doubt over the authorities’ interest in identifying victims so that measures can be taken to protect them.

Regarding the victims identified, the overwhelming majority were foreigners (68). Most of these were Syrian (63), though there were also five Palestinian, Jordanian, Ukrainian, and Bangladeshi victims. On the other hand, there were only two Lebanese victims. We were not able to find out the nationality of one victim. Regarding the victims’ gender and age, 52 were female (only eight of these were minors) and 19 were male (including 18 minors, at least six of whom were younger than 12 years old).

Regarding the relations linking the victims to the accused, in most of the cases (20 of 34), there were familial ties, most of which were clearly hierarchical. In these cases, the accused were the fathers, mothers, or spouses of the victims. On the other hand, the cases do not involve labor relations (employer-employee relations), which confirms that the sample does not include cases of exploitation in forced labor, particularly exploitation of domestic workers and foreign workers subject to the sponsorship system.

Beyond one case (a minor who fell victim to exploitation in begging and was charged with theft) in the study, all the other victims charged (16) were females charged with the misdemeanor of clandestine prostitution (Article 523 of the Penal Code), including two minors (a Syrian and a Palestinian). Three of them were charged with another misdemeanor, namely neglecting to renew residency (Article 36 of the Law of Foreigners), and one of these was also charged with using drugs (Article 127 of the Drugs Law). All these acts were crimes arising from their subjection to trafficking.

Fifty-four identified victims in the cases included in the sample were not charged. Beyond the victims charged, 29 victims participated in the cases as civil claimants. Twenty-seven of these were women exploited in a single case, namely the “Chez Maurice” case.

 

Who Stood Accused of Human Trafficking?

The sample encompassed 85 people charged with the felony of human trafficking – Article 586 (1) of the Penal Code – and/or related crimes, though the majority (60 people) were accused in cases of exploiting women in prostitution. The sample included charges pertaining to the following crimes: facilitating and relying upon prostitution, rape, deprivation of liberty, consensual or non-consensual abortion, blackmail or extortion, weapon possession, forming an association to commit felonies, forging official documents and using the forgeries, and violating entry and residency regulations. In one case, one of those charged with human trafficking was also charged with a crime not directly related to human trafficking (theft).

The nationalities of those charged with human trafficking varied, but the overwhelming majority were Syrian (46 people) or Lebanese (31 people). The other accused persons were Bangladeshi, Jordanian, Iraqi, Russian, or stateless. Men outnumbered women 69 to 16. Most of the accused women were charged with exploiting women in prostitution.

 

Table 1: Persons involved in the cases per their capacity and the type of exploitation

Type of exploitation

 
 

Status in court proceedings

Prostitution

Begging

Illegal adoption

Recruitment of foreign workers

Total

Persons charged with the felony of human trafficking

54

19

4

2

79

Persons charged with crimes related to human trafficking

6

 

 

 

6

Women charged with crimes related to their subjection to human trafficking

16

16

Victim charged with other crimes (theft)

1

1

 

Total charged

76

20

4

2

102

Victims of human trafficking identified and not prosecuted

30

23

1

54

Anonymous victims

6

1

6

13

Total victims not charged

36

23

1

7

67

Total persons

112

43

5

9

169

 

Table 2: Nationalities, ages, and genders of the victims per type of exploitation

Type of exploitation

 

 

Nationality

Prostitution

Begging

Recruitment of foreign workers

Total

Age

Female adults

Female minors

Male minors

Female minors

Male adult

 

Lebanese

2

 

 

 

 

2

Syrian

38

1

18

6

 

63

Palestinian

1

1

 

 

 

2

Jordanian

1

 

 

 

 

1

Ukrainian

1

 

 

 

 

1

Bangladeshi

 

 

 

 

1

1

Unclear

1

 

 

 

 

1

Total

44

2

18

6

1

71

Grand total

46

24

1

71

Total males

0

18

1

19

Total females

46

6

0

52

 

Table 3: Nationality and gender of those charged with human trafficking and related crimes

Type of exploitation

 

Nationality

Prostitution

Begging

Illegal adoption

Recruitment of foreign workers

Total

Gender

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

 

Syrian

24

6

13

3

 

 

 

 

46

Lebanese

24

3

 

1

2

1

 

 

31

Bangladeshi

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

 

3

Stateless

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

2

Jordanian

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Iraqi

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Russian

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Total

50

10

15

4

2

2

2

0

85

Grand total

60

19

4

2

85

Total males

69

 

Total females

16

 

 

This article is an edited translation from Arabic.

 

[1] The convention stipulated that organized crime is crime committed by “a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit”.

[2] General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces Letter no. 11943/206ش2, dated April 27, 2018.

[3] General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces Letter no. 5480/أع/و/وز, dated June 18, 2018.

[4] “Subjection warrants” are an administrative sanction used by General Security without any legal basis and despite a Council of Ministers decision to put and end to them.

[5] The reports are available on the US Department of State’s website: https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/.

Share the article

Mapped through:

Articles, Asylum, Migration and Human Trafficking, Lebanon



For Your Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *