Preliminary investigation of the criminal proceeding initiated on trafficking of 4 persons, among them 1 child, committed by 38 year-old resident of Kotayk region, was completed.

Through factual data obtained in the result of large-scale investigative and procedural actions conducted in General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the RA Investigative Committee it was grounded that 38 year-old man, taking advantage of the vulnerability of three female residents of Ararat region, among them mother and daughter, conditioned by the absence of work or other occupation, own dwelling, as well as the impossibility of providing minor and baby children with minimal living conditions, absence of other sources of income, with the intent to subject them to trafficking, offered them to do a milkmaid job on the farm owned by him, located in Garni community, without clarifying the payment conditions.

Hoping to be paid in the amount envisaged for the mentioned job, at least 5.000 AMD for milking 1 cow per month, the mentioned women accepted the man’s offer. In order to do the job, one of them with her baby child in 2018, the mother and daughter with their minor and baby children in 2023, moved and lived in the stone building located at the area of the mentioned farm, which didn’t have basic household conditions.

38 year-old man offered to obtain the food necessary for them from the shop owned by him in a non-cash way with a promise to make a calculation with the money they earned after making notes on the purchased goods.

Then, mostly on the occasion of work-related grievances, 38 year-old man used violence against the women, he hit them with hands and feet, as well as with an iron tool for cattle barn cleaning on different parts of their bodies, threatened to use violence against them and scolded them. He also made them do other jobs – feed the animals, take them to the field, clean the cattle barn and others.

38 year-old man paid one of the women only 30.000 AMD for the milkmaid and other imposed jobs done for 4 years, he never made any calculation in order to pay her for the work she did and to calculate the amount of the goods taken from the shop as an expense and to find out the difference between these amounts. Moreover, against the name of the mentioned woman, as a debt, he also registered the goods and cigarettes taken from the same shop by another person who actually worked on the farm for years. As a result, during these years the woman accumulated a debt in the amount of 2,004,740 AMD in the shop.

He paid only 15.000 AMD to the mother and daughter for the work done in 6 months and again did not make any calculation. As a result, the amount of the debt of the mother and daughter was 480.480 AMD.  38 year-old man used this uncertainty as a favorable condition for keeping the mentioned women in a state of exploitation.

Besides, 38 year-old man, with the same intent to subject the child to trafficking demanded that 9 year-old child of the family already exploited by him from January, 2023 should wake up at 07:00 every morning starting from February, together with 14 year-old son of the person working as a milkmaid on the farm help the cattle herder keep the herd of cattle. Till June 7, also on rainy and cold days, 9 year-old child together with the mentioned persons took the herd of cattle to the field at 2 km’s distance from the farm where he stayed until 16:00-17:00 and helped

The above-mentioned persons could get rid of the exploitation only when at mother and daughter’s call the police officers visited them. The daughter had called the police with another mobile phone card that was with her which she had hidden from 38 year-old man, as he had taken her phone card.

On the base of the obtained sufficient facts charge was pressed against 38 year-old resident of Kotayk according to the Part 1 of the Article 188 (2 counts) and the Point 1 of the Part 2 of the Article 189 of RA Criminal Code.

Detention was used as a pretrial measure against him.

Preliminary investigation was completed. The materials of the criminal proceeding with the bill of indictment were sent to the prosecutor for approval and referral to court.