Imprescriptible crimes in the Criminal Code
Slavery, human trafficking, sexual assault, torture of children become imprescriptible crimes in Romania.
Bogdan Matei, 02.07.2021, 14:00
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated the ‘ideal circumstances’ for human trafficking to develop globally. Governments have channelled their resources on the health crisis and human traffickers have taken advantage of the most vulnerable persons — shows an annual report of the US State Department that looks into the human trafficking situation from 188 countries of the world.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, estimates that 25 million people, including minors, are victims of this type of trafficking, which includes prostitution and forced labor. There are lots of examples from all over the world. In India and Nepal, young girls from poor rural areas have been forced to marry to help their families.
In the United States, the United Kingdom and Uruguay, there were landlords who forced their tenants unable to pay their rent to have sexual relations with them. For the first time for a NATO member country, Turkey has been accused of having recruited and used child soldiers in Syria and Libya. 11 countries are accused of directly trafficking people: Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Cuba, Eritrea, North Korea, Iran, Russia, South Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan. “Governments should protect and serve their citizens, not terrorize and subjugate them for profit” said Antony Blinken.
Although a member of the European Union, Romania is not immune to similar horrors. In 2018, 14 individuals from Berevoieşti-Argeş (south) received prison sentences between 4 and 18 years, because they had literally reduced to slavery 40 young people and children. Cases of child sexual abuse, forced prostitution, torture frequently go to court and make the headlines on news TV stations. On Thursday, the Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, promulgated the law amending the Criminal Code according to which the criminal liability of aggressors will not be prescribed in the case of crimes of slavery, human trafficking, sexual assault and torture of children.
The law also provides for increasing punishments in case of failure to report the respective crimes. The law equally stipulates an increase by one third of the special length of sentences in cases of child pornography perpetrated by a person who had previously committed a crime against the freedom and sexual integrity of a child, a child pornography crime or the crime of pimping a child or if the offence endangered the child’s life.
Also this week, the Romanian Police made operational the digital National Register including individuals who have committed sexual crimes, have exploited people or children. According to the authorities, this register provides information on and allows for the supervision and rapid identification of persons involved in the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable persons, in crimes against one’s sexual freedom and integrity. (LS)
