Yerevan Resident Trafficked Ararat Region Inhabitant for 5 Years: Details

The investigation conducted by the Human Trafficking, Protection of Minors’ Sexual Integrity, and Illegal Drug Trafficking Crimes Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia has uncovered a case of labor trafficking involving a resident of the Ararat region.

According to the obtained factual data, a 55-year-old resident of Yerevan, in May 2018, learned about the socio-economic vulnerability of a 47-year-old resident of the Ararat region and his family members, which included their lack of work or any professions, and an inability to provide minimum living conditions for their minor child. He exploited this vulnerability by offering the victim work as a livestock keeper at a farm in the village of Hayanist in Ararat region, promising a monthly salary of 80,000 to 150,000 AMD and providing accommodation.

Agreeing to the offer, the victim moved with his family to live in a structure on the farm in June 2018. For about two months at that location, the 55-year-old man did not pay the victim his salary. After the death of five piglets, he assaulted the victim, demanding he pay 2,000,000 AMD or work for him for three to five years for free.

He threatened the victim with murder and bodily harm, forcing him to sign a handwritten document agreeing to work as a livestock keeper for five years. Otherwise, he would be liable for all debts taken out by the 55-year-old and reimburse the money for the apartment acquired under the terms of an installment payment.

Shortly thereafter, the victim's wife left the location with their minor child. By the end of November 2018, at the demand of the 55-year-old man, the victim relocated with his mother to the village of Nor Geghi in Kotayk Province to continue livestock keeping and fulfill his obligations, where they lived in a room separated in a barn, deprived of basic living conditions.

From November 2018 to September 2023, the 55-year-old man used the victim's personal dependency and vulnerability to continue his exploitation, regularly applying violence against him, striking him with his hands in various parts of his body, and making threats of murder and bodily harm. He forced the victim to perform construction work in addition to his duties as a livestock keeper and to provide veterinary care for the animals.

In cases of animal deaths, the 55-year-old blamed the victim, stating that the 2,000,000 AMD would not have decreased over five years but increased to 15,000,000 AMD. Notably, during these years, the victim only received around 25,000 AMD for his labor.

Additionally, in September 2019, the 55-year-old man, under the guise of fulfilling obligations and as a gesture of leniency towards the victim, demanded that he hand over his mother's pension funds. Consequently, until August 2023, the victim transferred approximately 2,075,000 AMD to him.

The resident of the Ararat region managed to escape the exploitative situation only when relevant operational information was received by the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs, after which both he and his mother submitted relevant reports.

Based on sufficient evidence, the 55-year-old man has been charged under part 1 of Article 188 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. A measure of restraint has been imposed on him, prohibiting him from leaving. The pre-investigation has been completed, and the materials of the criminal case, along with the accusatory conclusion, have been sent to the supervising prosecutor for approval and forwarding to the court.