SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan -- A court in the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent has handed lengthy prison terms to 13 people, including two Russian citizens, in a human-trafficking case.
Judge Absattar Shakhidinov on December 21 sentenced 13 people, including nine women, to prison terms between 15 months and 14 years after finding them guilty of organizing and/or involvement in the trafficking of dozens of Kazakh women to Bahrain in 2016-20, where they were forced to engage in prostitution.
The court also found three other local women guilty in the case but handed them parole-like sentences.
The harshest sentence, 14 years in prison, was handed to Saodat Azadova, who was the leader of the group, the court's verdict said.
There were 36 plaintiffs in the high-profile case. All of them are women who grew up in orphanages, special boarding schools, or families with lower incomes.
The trial started in late May and was held behind closed doors.
The Interior Ministry's official statement in March about launching the probe into human trafficking and sex slavery in Bahrain involving Kazakh women sparked public outcry.
According to the ministry, three more suspects in the case remain at large.