Amsterdam human trafficking, forced prostitution suspects in court

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is demanding prison sentences for two Bulgarian men who are suspected of exploiting and trafficking women in Amsterdam's Red Light District. However, the women insist they worked voluntarily, according to the service's website.

The women were exploited using the "loverboy" method, in which victims are seduced and then used for profit. The 32- and 44-year-old suspects threatened, humiliated and insulted the women in order to make a profit from the women's work. The victims also led an isolated life with extreme restrictions on their personal freedoms, according to the OM.

However, the women did not file a complaint because they do not believe themselves to be victims. The OM suspects the women are afraid of the suspects, who have put them in an overly dependent, vulnerable position.

The suspects were arrested in 2016 for actions that took place from 2010 to 2016. The coronavirus pandemic forced the hearing to be postponed for more than two years. Now, the OM is demanding prison sentences of 32 and 54 months, respectively, against the two men.

The OM considers this a very serious case of sexual exploitation. The women involved were made to work long hours, even when sick, and their earnings were controlled entirely by the suspects. The women were not given any autonomy over when they worked or what they bought, and had to report their earnings daily via coded text messages. The suspects also mistreated them verbally, according to the OM.

The primary objective for the suspects was financial gain, said the officers in court. "While the women were hard at work and had hard days and nights, the suspects spent the money and enjoyed a carefree life."