Human trafficking

BELGRADE - The Serbian police discovered 123 cases of human trafficking between May and October this year, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said on Wednesday.

The number of detected cases of trafficking was 38.2 percent higher than in the same period last year, he said at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on defence and interior affairs.

Forced to pick cotton, grow cannabis, prostitute themselves, fight wars or clean up after the wealthy, some 35.8 million people are currently trapped in modern-day slavery, a new report said Nov. 17.

VIENNA - Serbian State Secretary in the Ministry of Interior Affairs Aleksandar Nikolic stated during the OSCE conference in Vienna on Tuesday that ethical principles are important in the fight against human trafficking.

The efforts in the prevention and countering human trafficking often entail complex ethical dilemmas, Nikolic said in the opening statement.

The efforts of Bulgaria's Interior Ministry have been aimed at countering human trafficking since the beginning of August, according to caretaker Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov.

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During the years 2010-2012, EU Member States registered 30,146 victims of trafficking in human beings.

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Trafficking humans still a problem in Balkans

Three Bulgarian nationals were arrested in Serbia on suspicion of participating in a human trafficking channel.

They were indicted for human trafficking and crossing the border illegally, according to reports of the BGNES news agency.

The three Bulgarians were arrested near Pirot, in the area of the Poganovski monastery.

BELGRADE - Sexual exploitation was the most common form of human trafficking in Serbia last year, and most victims were female, Director of the Center for Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking Sanja Kljajic said Monday, noting that the number of male trafficking victims is on the rise.

Three people were injured on Monday when the Greek Coast Guard chased suspected human traffickers between the Dodecandese islands of Pserimos and Kalymnos.

Emma Kate Hopkins OBE has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, announced the British Embassy in Sofia. 

She will succeed Jonathan Allen, who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. 

Hopkins will take up her appointment during May 2015.