80 rescued sex workers kidnapped in Cambodia

December 12, 2004

Phnom Penh - About 30 men and women, some armed with handguns, attacked a shelter in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, and kidnapped more than 80 sex workers whom authorities had rescued earlier this week, a newspaper reported yesterday.

The attackers surrounded the shelter on Wednesday, assaulted its guards and forced the women - half whom were under age - into SUVs, said Somaly Mam, president of Afesip, a French group helping abused women.

The authorities had rescued the 83 women and girls on Tuesday from a brothel in Phnom Penh.

"The girls were very afraid," Somaly Mam told the Cambodia Daily. "They told me the boss of the hotel has a lot of power, and that he will come to take them."

She said two interior ministry policemen had been on duty during the raid, but had been too afraid to stop the attack. Afesip would cut back its work due to the attack, Aarti Kapoor, a legal adviser to the group, told the paper.

The United States said in its 2004 global human trafficking report that Cambodian authorities had increased arrests and prosecutions of traffickers last year, but their efforts were hindered by corruption and a weak judiciary. - Associated Press

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