Thai woman jailed for running human trafficking ring
Many victims were forced to be available 24 hours a day to repay up to CHF30,000 ($30,000) in debts.
Keystone
A court has sentenced a 58-year old Thai woman to more than ten years in jail in one of the biggest human trafficking cases in Switzerland.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch with SDA-ATS/ug
The woman was found guilty on 75 counts of smuggling mostly poor and uneducated Thai women into the country, according to the regional court of Biel/Bienne.
The defendant was also sentenced for several other crimes, including the promotion of prostitution and money laundering.
Announcing the verdict on Wednesday, the presiding judge said the defendant had been running a complex, professionally structured and inhumane scheme in several regions of Switzerland between 2009 and 2014 when she was arrested.
The prosecution said most of the victims were aware they would be employed as sex workers in Switzerland but were not prepared for the extremely harsh conditions, and that they were forced to pay back travel debts.
The defendant partly admitted guilt during the ten-day trial.
Several similar prostitution rings have come to light in recent years, but experts believe the problem is much bigger than what has been uncovered.
Prostitution is a regulated trade in Switzerland, but trafficking, forcing people into prostitution and most forms of pimping are illegal.
More
More
‘Switzerland has made progress in combating human trafficking’
This content was published on
More and more victims of human trafficking are being discovered in Switzerland according to the latest statistics from the Zurich-based Centre for Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking (FIZ). But such figures are approximate at best because many victims don’t dare to speak up. The organisation ACT212 set up its nationwide…
Swiss political class divided over reform of EU asylum pact
This content was published on
As a result of the EU's Migration and Asylum Pact, Switzerland must adapt five laws linked to the Schengen/Dublin agreements.
AI can reduce the number of animals needed for research
This content was published on
Swiss researchers have developed a new, AI-supported method that analyses the behaviour of mice in the laboratory more efficiently.
Geneva Conventions conference on Middle East scheduled for March 2025
This content was published on
The conference on the Middle East of the 196 States party to the Geneva Conventions, organised by Switzerland, will take place in Geneva in March.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Sex workers “are deprived of all freedom”
This content was published on
At the end of October, police in Bern dismantled a human trafficking network. Seven people have been charged with bringing into Switzerland 50 women and transsexuals, mostly of Thai origin, with the intention of forcing them into prostitution. The phenomenon is not new. A few weeks earlier, clandestine trafficking of Hungarian prostitutes was uncovered in…
More Nigerian women and asylum seekers being trafficked
This content was published on
Last year, the proportion of human trafficking victims who are also asylum seekers tripled in the Zurich region, according to a Swiss advocacy group’s annual report.
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court has acquitted a Romanian couple accused of trafficking Roma people who ended up begging.
This content was published on
A Swiss man accused of abusing more than 80 children in Thailand for over a decade has been fined and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
This content was published on
The Swiss government says it is against outlawing prostitution or the buying of sexual services, but has proposed measures to better protect sex workers and to fight against human trafficking.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.