Azeri human traffickers get bail, vanish
A couple wanted by the Azeri police for their alleged involvement in human smuggling, prostitution set free on bail.
ISLAMABAD:
The anti-human trafficking cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has failed to arrest an Azerbaijan couple who are allegedly involved in human smuggling, prostitution, arrested by the capital police some 10 days ago and set free on bail. The couple are wanted by the Azeri police for their involvement in criminal activities in the central Asian state.
Zarifa Babayeva and her brother Mirdamat Babayev, along with five Pakistani women, were arrested by the Margalla Police on October 15 for their alleged involvement in human trafficking and prostitution and were produced before a local court on October 18 which set them free on bail.
The FIA was supposed to take the suspects into custody after their arrest.
However, the FIA did not arrest them despite repeated requests from the Azeri authorities ostensibly due to pressures from influential quarters.
The International Police (Interpol) and the Azeri security agencies have sought their arrest and extradition many times but nothing has been done.
‘Red Warrants’ were issued by Interpol the day after their arrest was reported to the embassy of Azerbaijan on October 16.
The Azeri embassy wrote a letter to Pakistani authorities, a copy of which was obtained by The Express Tribune, requesting them to keep the two suspects detained till the embassy was able to submit sufficient evidence against them.
Besides giving details about the suspects, the letter stated that the embassy had informed the FIA of their ‘criminal activities several times previously but the FIA neither responded nor took any action against them.
The embassy in its letter, offered to provide the ‘demanded documents’ to the authorities on October 18. The Margalla Police, however, did not wait and produced the two suspects before the Court of Civil Judge Rai Liaquat Ali Kharal, who granted the two suspects and their Pakistani accomplices against Rs 50,000 surety bonds.
Sabia Ikram, who was representing the Azerbaijan embassy, opposed bail for the accused saying that they were wanted by the Azerbaijan authorities and Interpol. All relevant documents, including the Interpol red warrant and the warrants of the district court of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, were submitted to the court.
The documents revealed that the two suspects had been involved in human smuggling and prostitution for the last 10 years.
The Interpol warrant stated that the two had been smuggling Azeri women to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates for prostitution. Apart from their particulars, the embassy also provided the authorities ad Interpol in Islamabad with case details, requesting their arrest and extradition.
Citing one of the many crimes the two have committed, the embassy letter stated that Mirdamat Babayev took Amiraslanova to Islamabad where he handed her to another woman, Zairova Musurkhanum.
Zairova put Amiraslanova in prostitution and sexually exploited her from October 2005 till the end of May 2006. It further states that the judge of the Narimanov district court of Baku city had issued an arrest warrant against Mirdamat Babayev for his involvement in several prostitution cases.
The Interpol warrant had assured authorities that in the case of arrest, the necessary extradition documents would be sent through diplomatic channels to authorities in Islamabad.
However, despite repeated attempts the FIA Director General (DG) and the authorities concerned could not be contacted for their comments on the FIA’s inaction over the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2010.
The anti-human trafficking cell of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has failed to arrest an Azerbaijan couple who are allegedly involved in human smuggling, prostitution, arrested by the capital police some 10 days ago and set free on bail. The couple are wanted by the Azeri police for their involvement in criminal activities in the central Asian state.
Zarifa Babayeva and her brother Mirdamat Babayev, along with five Pakistani women, were arrested by the Margalla Police on October 15 for their alleged involvement in human trafficking and prostitution and were produced before a local court on October 18 which set them free on bail.
The FIA was supposed to take the suspects into custody after their arrest.
However, the FIA did not arrest them despite repeated requests from the Azeri authorities ostensibly due to pressures from influential quarters.
The International Police (Interpol) and the Azeri security agencies have sought their arrest and extradition many times but nothing has been done.
‘Red Warrants’ were issued by Interpol the day after their arrest was reported to the embassy of Azerbaijan on October 16.
The Azeri embassy wrote a letter to Pakistani authorities, a copy of which was obtained by The Express Tribune, requesting them to keep the two suspects detained till the embassy was able to submit sufficient evidence against them.
Besides giving details about the suspects, the letter stated that the embassy had informed the FIA of their ‘criminal activities several times previously but the FIA neither responded nor took any action against them.
The embassy in its letter, offered to provide the ‘demanded documents’ to the authorities on October 18. The Margalla Police, however, did not wait and produced the two suspects before the Court of Civil Judge Rai Liaquat Ali Kharal, who granted the two suspects and their Pakistani accomplices against Rs 50,000 surety bonds.
Sabia Ikram, who was representing the Azerbaijan embassy, opposed bail for the accused saying that they were wanted by the Azerbaijan authorities and Interpol. All relevant documents, including the Interpol red warrant and the warrants of the district court of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, were submitted to the court.
The documents revealed that the two suspects had been involved in human smuggling and prostitution for the last 10 years.
The Interpol warrant stated that the two had been smuggling Azeri women to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates for prostitution. Apart from their particulars, the embassy also provided the authorities ad Interpol in Islamabad with case details, requesting their arrest and extradition.
Citing one of the many crimes the two have committed, the embassy letter stated that Mirdamat Babayev took Amiraslanova to Islamabad where he handed her to another woman, Zairova Musurkhanum.
Zairova put Amiraslanova in prostitution and sexually exploited her from October 2005 till the end of May 2006. It further states that the judge of the Narimanov district court of Baku city had issued an arrest warrant against Mirdamat Babayev for his involvement in several prostitution cases.
The Interpol warrant had assured authorities that in the case of arrest, the necessary extradition documents would be sent through diplomatic channels to authorities in Islamabad.
However, despite repeated attempts the FIA Director General (DG) and the authorities concerned could not be contacted for their comments on the FIA’s inaction over the issue.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2010.