Cambodia: Human trafficking crisis driven by cyberscams

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Foreign nationals are being trafficked to Cambodia through online scams, and some are subject to torture and even death. Survivors and human rights experts are calling for law enforcement to take action.

 

Recent escapes and rescues of foreigners working for criminal syndicates in Cambodia's casinos and other businesses have exposed an extreme problem with human trafficking in the Southeast Asian country. Many of the victims were lured by online scams. 

 

Last week, Cambodian police arrested 15 Thais wanted for cyberfraud and working illegally from a compound in Sihanoukville following a request from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. The arrests came as Cambodia and police forces from different countries in the region step up their efforts to rescue their citizens and shut down trafficking syndicates.

 

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia Vitit Muntarbhorn, who concluded an 11-day mission to the country in late August, said that human trafficking victims were experiencing a "living hell," in which many were tortured or even killed.

 

 

read more https://www.dw.com/en/cambodia-human-trafficking-crisis-driven-by-cyberscams/a-63092938