Rita Superman, head of the police anti-trafficking unit said girls are being exploited as child brides sent to Cyprus from Syria for an arranged marriage.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Superman recounted incidents of forced marriages involving minors, her office had to deal with.
“This happens mainly with underage girls from Syria, sent to Cyprus to meet the groom on arranged marriage contracts,” she explains.
Superman said that the anti-trafficking unit had to deal with around 10 incidents during the escalation of the Syrian crisis that led to a peak in migratory flows three years ago.
The Attorney General ruled that these kinds of marriages are considered illegal in the Republic of Cyprus. “We are not aware of similar incidents as of late, but we know they exist,” says the policewoman.
She observes that human trafficking is interlinked with the problem of migration, that facilitates the exploitation of vulnerable groups of people.
Moreover, she says that state procedures are also being exploited by groups of people. There is an organized wave of Cameroonians coming to Cyprus through the Turkish-occupied part of the island and seek asylum in the free areas of the Republic, Superman says.
She adds that these people seem to be informed about all the procedures around asylum and know what to do, step by step. They know the procedures for the Identification of victims of trafficking and ultimately come to us. “They might be trafficking victims, but it is very difficult to confirm it.”
According to Superman “there is an incredible combination these days, concerning the ways people are being exploited in every country.”
The problem in Cyprus is increasing due to growing migration flows and takes worrying dimensions in relation to the capacity and the size of the country.
Its connection with human trafficking is obvious in many levels, including work permits, fake marriages or exploiting the rights of tourist and student visas, she says.
The head of the police anti-trafficking unit was selected to chair the Interpol anti-trafficking group of experts for a year. Her first official function as chair was three weeks ago, when she attended Interpol’s international conference in Nigeria.
