Sex Trafficking Ring Leader Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas

Originally posted by AnimositisominA
He should be slowly tortured to death to set an example. They should make it mandatory for all 1st and 2nd rate sex offenders watch Clockwork Orange style. I would pay to torture him myself.

Sooner or later executions will make it to Pay-Per-View.

And trillions more will be made.

To watch suffering.

What is wrong with you? That is sick.

Chill the # out. 40 years is a long time, this guy is practically done for life.

reply to post by PoorFool


Well, not sure who your comment was directed at, but 40 years is not enough.

I see life in prison as too good for sex trafficking.

If you disagree state so without the aggressiveness.

reply to post by superwurzel666


Life with out parole is a joke for people like that. They should get what they deserve. Death. Make an example of these sorry excuses for humans. Stick a needle in their arm and do away with them. Prison is to rehabilitate. These people can not be rehabilitated. So..slaver, pedophiles, rapists and murderers should get the chair or the needle...or just take 'em out back and two in back of the head. It would make the world a much happier place. But of course we can't do that. We live in a civilized societie....

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

The defendant and his co-conspirators would promise the victims they would have a life together and then tell them they needed to travel to the United States to make money working in restaurants or cleaning homes. Victims testified at trial that Amador Cortes-Meza was physically abusive both in Mexico and the United States if they disagreed with his plans or told him no.

The root cause of some of this (apart from the traffickers complete sickness) would seem to me to be poverty. thats the thing that really needs to be fixed.
In so many parts of the world sex is the one commodity that women have any access to and it's a commodity that is always in demand not only through trafficking but through sex tourism to places like Thailand and Brazil

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
reply to post by PoorFool

 

Well, not sure who your comment was directed at, but 40 years is not enough.

I see life in prison as too good for sex trafficking.

If you disagree state so without the aggressiveness.

It's just that some of the stuff you guys say makes me think that you have a thing for torturing people.
40 years is practically a life sentence, he's not gonna get out alive.
I'm not sure if death penalty can be given to someone who hasn't actually killed anyone, though.

Originally posted by XLR8R
reply to post by superwurzel666

 

Life with out parole is a joke for people like that. They should get what they deserve. Death. Make an example of these sorry excuses for humans. Stick a needle in their arm and do away with them. Prison is to rehabilitate. These people can not be rehabilitated. So..slaver, pedophiles, rapists and murderers should get the chair or the needle...or just take 'em out back and two in back of the head. It would make the world a much happier place. But of course we can't do that. We live in a civilized societie....

We could not agree more.

Unfortunately, too many people in power stop just that, because they are a part of the problem.

If you're not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem, as part of the problem you are the problem.

Apathy reigns supreme in Washington D.C. let alone the rest of America.

Until American citizens get too fed up with this to get off their fat and lazy asses nothing will change.

Originally posted by davespanners
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

The defendant and his co-conspirators would promise the victims they would have a life together and then tell them they needed to travel to the United States to make money working in restaurants or cleaning homes. Victims testified at trial that Amador Cortes-Meza was physically abusive both in Mexico and the United States if they disagreed with his plans or told him no.

The root cause of some of this (apart from the traffickers complete sickness) would seem to me to be poverty. thats the thing that really needs to be fixed.
In so many parts of the world sex is the one commodity that women have any access to and it's a commodity that is always in demand not only through trafficking but through sex tourism to places like Thailand and Brazil

Well, I disagree, but only slightly.

The root cause of the problem is sick and twisted individuals luring people to trust them.

Poverty is only a part of the problem.

Our current financial status here in America is only going to make this worse not better.

People are hurting financially, houses foreclosed on, jobs going away and worse.

Senators going on "fact-finding missions" in Thailand and getting $2 hookers sure doesn't help.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


Unless it were to start happening to their children and families, nothing will really change. They don't care if some poor people get exploited, they look the other way for the most part.

There is a pretty good movie out there called traffic. I recommend it highly.

Originally posted by PoorFool

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
reply to post by PoorFool

 

Well, not sure who your comment was directed at, but 40 years is not enough.

I see life in prison as too good for sex trafficking.

If you disagree state so without the aggressiveness.

It's just that some of the stuff you guys say makes me think that you have a thing for torturing people.

40 years is practically a life sentence, he's not gonna get out alive.
I'm not sure if death penalty can be given to someone who hasn't actually killed anyone, though.

Quite the contary.

I detest torture.

I stand against torture in fact.

40 years is nothing especially if parole is possible in 12 years with good behavior.

That is how the prison system works 2/3's of the sentence is dropped if they behave.

My question to you is if this sex-trafficker screwed over 1 persons life do you think they believe 40 years is enough?

What about 10 people do you think those people believe 40 years is adequate punishment?

Let us go further if it were 100 people he sold into sexual slavery do you think they would agree?

Now, let me diverge a tad, and go into more detail with how this crap happens.

And it happens due to a lack of the Government giving a damn mind you.

These women, not all are women, are promised jobs in housekeeping or waitressing, or whatever.

Then they are brought over and told what they will really do, sexual servitude, to work off their debt.

Yes, their debt, what expenses were paid to bring them into the host country.

Can you tell yet how sick this makes me, and how much I've investigated, so far?

We have yet to have delved into the drug aspects of this triangle of madness.

Shall I go there?

Sure.

Next, these women are usually, not always, but usually hooked on illegal drugs.

Against their will.

The Underground Empire: Where Crime and Governments Embrace

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/38066e743191.jpg[/atsimg]

Quote from : The Underground Empire - Where Crime and Governments Embrace : Excerpt

[Page 3:] The inhabitants of the earth spend more money on illegal drugs than they spend on food. More than they spend on housing, clothes, education, medical care, or any other product or service.

The international narcotics industry is the largest growth industry in the world.

Its annual revenues exceed half a trillion dollars -- three times the value of all United States currency in circulation, more than the gross national products of all but a half dozen of the major industrialized nations.

To imagine the immensity of such wealth consider this: A million dollars in gold would weigh as much as a large man.

A half-trillion dollars would weigh more than the entire population of Washington, D.C. Narcotics industry profits, secretly stockpiled in countries competing for the business, draw interest exceeding $3 million per hour.

To what use will this money eventually be put?

What will be its ultimate effect?

Though everyone knows narcotics is big business, its truly staggering dimensions have never been fully publicized.

The statistics on which the above statements are based appear in classified documents prepared with the participation of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.

These studies are circulated in numbered copies with warnings of "criminal sanctions" for unauthorized disclosure. Why is this information withheld from public view?

The international narcotics industry is, in fact, not an industry at all, but an empire.

Sovereign, proud, expansionist, this Underground Empire, though frequently torn by internal struggle, never fails to present a solid front to the world at large.

It has become today as ruthlessly acquisitive and exploitative as any nineteenth-century imperial kingdom, as far-reaching as the British Empire, as determinedly cohesive as the states of the American republic.

Aggressive and violent by nature, the Underground Empire maintains its own armies, diplomats, intelligence services, banks, merchant fleets, and air lines.

It seeks to extend its dominance by any means, from clandestine subversion to open warfare.

Legitimate nations combat its agents within their own borders, but effectively ignore its power internationally.

The United States government, while launching cosmetic "wars" on drugs and crime, has rarely attacked the Empire abroad, has never substantially diminished its international power, and does not today seriously challenge its growing threat to world stability.

Why is this so?

Do the world's governments not want to eliminate this expanding source of criminal wealth and power?

Has there in fact never been an attempt to mount a truly effective global assault against it?

Has there never existed -- does there not exist today -- some hidden, unpublicized, international force struggling against the Underground Empire?

And then the real nightmares begin as they are passed around between men willing to shell out money.

Still, I stand against torture, my original comment that sparked your ire was about executions?

I would willingly pull the switch on these sick, twisted, perverted people myself if I was allowed.

These people, the victims, will rarely if ever recover any sort of self-worth.

They will need psychological counseling for the rest of their lives to get anywhere near normal.

40 years is tantamount to an insult to the victims.

They should get 40 years for every single victim.

Without an option for parole ever.

Originally posted by TKDRL
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

Unless it were to start happening to their children and families, nothing will really change. They don't care if some poor people get exploited, they look the other way for the most part.

There is a pretty good movie out there called traffic. I recommend it highly.

edit on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:01:15 -0500 by TKDRL because: (no reason given)

Of course.

I've seen the one you're referencing.

This is the one right?

Human Trafficking Trailer


And I have two suggestions for you.

Man on Fire Official Trailer


Taken Trailer


This stuff really happens and Hollywood portrayals are only pale comparisons.

No, that wasn't the one I was thinking of, hmm... Oh my bad, the movie is called trade. I haven't seen traffic yet, it does look good. Man on fire is one of my alltime favorite movies ever. I watch that one like once a month. Taken was pretty great too.

One thing I think a lot of people are afraid to think about, our alphebet agencies probably have their hands in human trafficking as well. It would be naive to think that their crimes stop at drug and gun running.

Originally posted by TKDRL
No, that wasn't the one I was thinking of, hmm... Oh my bad, the movie is called trade. I haven't seen traffic yet, it does look good. Man on fire is one of my alltime favorite movies ever. I watch that one like once a month. Taken was pretty great too.

One thing I think a lot of people are afraid to think about, our alphebet agencies probably have their hands in human trafficking as well. It would be naive to think that their crimes stop at drug and gun running.

Of course.

The book I referenced in reply to another poster, The Underground Empire, reads like a tell-all.

The author wrote it about this organization called Centac, short for Central Tactical Unit, which was taking down entire drug empires, one by one, in entirety, and they were hamstrung by the C.I.A., D.E.A., and F.B.I. over petty turf issues.

Instead of coming together and cooperating they feud amongst themselves.

Like children on a playground fighting over a sandbox and toys.

The real kicker in reading the book was seeing how the C.I.A. funds and or looks the other way.

Just to gather intelligence or control the power.

reply to post by Analyze76

There will be a time when they push to have it legalized....

I know of a case where it WAS legalized!!!!

In SCHOOL, a friends 12 yr old daughter was Conned into sex by a 21 yr old. I suggested pressing statutory rape charges.

TRIAL RESULT:
The Judge declared the 12 yr old was in LOVE, removed her from her parents and placed her in an apartment with a couple of unwed mothers. A few days later the 21 yr old's REAL GIRLFRIEND posed as a Social Worker and took the kid out of school so she could participate in a SEX party.

A few days later the father found the guy's brother was after his 10 yr old!!!

We are talking two very pretty blonds who were straight A students. Now thanks to the D@#$m system their lives have been ruined. The family treats the 12 year old as if she is dead to protect the 10 year from the monsters she is now associated with.

reply to post by crimvelvet


That judge obviously has zero common sense.

On top of that he should have been thrown off the bench.

And charges pressed against him for child endangerment.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

sex trafficking of minors....

Unless I am interpreting this incorrectly THIS IS" KIDNAPPING"! or more precisely it comes under the definition of "kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint" in the charts below.

Lets look at The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984:

...The federal guidelines were originally developed by the USSC, which continues to update the guidelines as laws administered by the federal courts are changed or new laws are passed. The latest edition of the guidelines were published in 2004 (Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual, November 2004, www.ussc.gov...). Supplemental volumes are also issued by the USSC.....

At the core of the guidelines are offenses as defined by federal statutes. The USSC assigns an "offense level" to each offense, known as the Base Offense Level. Levels are numbered from 1 to 43. The lowest actual offense for which the USSC has a level is Trespass. Trespass is level 4. First degree murder has a Base Offense Level of 43. Based on various circumstances associated with an offense, additional levels may be added or taken away until a particular offense has been precisely defined by level. Levels are abstract numbers. Their purpose is to enable the judge or prosecutor to find a particular sentence, in months of imprisonment, in the federal Sentencing Table....

An illustration is provided for kidnapping, abduction, and unlawful restraint. (See Table 9.1.) The table reproduces the USSC's guideline for this offense.
______________________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 9.1
Federal sentencing guidelines on kidnapping
SOURCE: "§2A4.1. Kidnapping, Abduction, Unlawful Restraint," in 2004 Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual, U.S. Sentencing Commission, November 2004, www.ussc.gov... (accessed March 31, 2005)
§2A4.1. Kidnapping, abduction, unlawful restraint

1. Base offense level: 32
2. Specific offense characteristics
1. If a ransom demand or a demand upon government was made, increase by 6 levels.
2.
1. If the victim sustained permanent or life-threatening bodily injury, increase by 4 levels;
2. if the victim sustained serious bodily injury, increase by 2 levels; or
3. if the degree of injury is between that specified in subdivisions (A) and (B), increase by 3 levels.
3. If a dangerous weapon was used, increase by 2 levels.
4.
1. If the victim was not released before thirty days had elapsed, increase by 2 levels.
2. If the victim was not released before seven days had elapsed, increase by 1 level.
5. If the victim was sexually exploited, increase by 6 levels.
6. If the victim is a minor and, in exchange for money or other consideration, was placed in the care or custody of another person who had no legal right to such care or custody of the victim, increase by 3 levels.
7. If the victim was kidnapped, abducted, or unlawfully restrained during the commission of, or in connection with, another offense or escape therefrom; or if another offense was committed during the kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint, increase to—
1. the offense level from the chapter two offense guideline applicable to that other offense if such offense guideline includes an adjustment for kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint, or otherwise takes such conduct into account; or
2. 4 plus the offense level from the offense guideline applicable to that other offense, but in no event greater than level 43, in any other case,
if the resulting offense level is greater than that determined above.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
offense has a Base Offense Level of 32, but additional levels can be added. For instance, if the victim sustained serious bodily injury, the level is increased by four to 36. If the victim was also sexually exploited, the level is increased by six levels to 38. If the victim was not released before seven days had passed, the level is increased by one to 33.... www.libraryindex.com...

OK so lets look at this "kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint"
Base Offense Level of 32
serious bodily injury...+2 (beatings per US Justice Dept report.)
sexually exploited.......+6
another offense...........+1? - was committed during the kidnapping, abduction -smuggling aliens into the United States for purposes of prostitution
held over thirty days...+2
TOTAL for one count...43

there is also minor placed in "another's care" for money +3 (sold for a time period????)

Now let's go back to the chart.
I reproduce part of it here.

TABLE 9.2
Federal sentencing table, 2004
[In months of imprisonment]
SOURCE: "Sentencing Table," in 2004 Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual, U.S. Sentencing Commission, November 2004, www.ussc.gov... (accessed March 31, 2005)

Criminal history category (criminal history points)

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Offense level..I (0 or 1)..II (2 or 3)..III (4, 5, 6)..IV (7, 8, 9)..V (10, 11, 12)..VI (13 or more)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
zone D [starts at level 27]
32................121–151.....135–168.......151–188.....168–210.........188–235.............210–262
33................135–168.....151–188.......168–210.......188–235.......210–262.............235–293
34................151–188.....168–210.......188–235.......210–262.......235–293.............262–327
35................168–210.....188–235.......210–262.......235–293........262–327............292–365
36................188–235.....210–262.......235–293.......262–327........292–365............324–405
37................210–262.....235–293.......262–327.......292–365........324–405.............360–life
38................235–293.....262–327.......292–365.......324–405.........360–life..............360–life
39................262–327.....292–365.......324–405........360–life.........360–life..............360–life
40................292–365.....324–405.......360–life.........360–life.........360–life..............360–life
41................324–405.....360–life.......360–life..........360–life.........360–life..............360–life
42................360–life.....360–life.......360–life..........360–life..........360–life...............360–life
43................life.....................life................life...................life..................life.......................life

Note: Zones indicate whether or not the individual is eligible for probation. Terms that fall into Zone A are eligible for straight probation. Terms that fall into Zone B are eligible for a split sentence in which a portion of the sentence is served in prison, a portion under probation. The person may receive less than the minimum sentence but must serve the remaining time under probation, intermittent confinement, community confinement, or home detention. Terms that fall into Zone C are eligible for probation, but at least half of the guideline sentence must be served in prison. Terms that fall into Zone D require that the minimum term must be served in prison. The criminal history columns refer to prior offenses. Under Category II, for instance, the person to be sentenced has had 2 or 3 prior convictions. This note is not part of the official Sentencing Table; it has been adapted from Lucien B. Cambell and Henry J. Bemporad, An Introduction to Federal Guideline Sentencing, United States Sentencing Commission, Washington, DC, March 2003.

So a level 43 gives a life sentence WITHOUT PROBATION for ONE COUNT of "kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint"

Even if we remove serious bodily injury...+2 to +4 (beatings) and Committed during an additional crime... +1??, you are looking at 292–365 months or 24 years 4 months to 30 years 5 months for the ONE COUNT of abduction.

How many times have we heard of a sentence of X to be served Consecutively?

Trucker to serve consecutive sentences for truck stop killings
Crenshaw's life terms to be served consecutively

Although many legal professionals believe that all convicted criminals should serve their sentences consecutively, others feel that mitigating circumstances should allow for concurrent sentences. In most states, it is up to the judge’s sole discretion as to how the defendant’s sentences should be served. In others, state law requires concurrent sentences for some offenses and consecutive sentences for others.

One of the main factors used to determine the type of sentencing served is past criminal history. An individual who is committing his or her first offense is more likely to inspire leniency and compassion in the judge and to receive a concurrent sentence. An individual, on the other hand, who has been convicted before (especially of a similar crime) will probably receive a consecutive sentence...

Another factor the judge and the law will consider is the nature of the crimes involves. An individual who is convicted of three similar crimes will most likely serve concurrent sentences. However, if the crimes are
unrelated (such as robbery and murder), the judge is more likely to issue an order for consecutive sentences. This is partly because the commission of one crime can lead to several charges.

And finally, the judge will consider mitigating factors.... www.associatedcontent.com...

Has everyone noticed this one:

Wis. billionaire charged with child sex assault

A billionaire executive whose family has run SC Johnson for five generations was charged Thursday with having sexual contact with a now 15-year-old girl over the course of several years. ...The girl told authorities that inappropriate touching started when she was between 6th and 7th grade, and the last incident occurred in November 2010, according to the complaint cited by the Journal Times of Racine.

...Privately held SC Johnson makes household products including Pledge, Glade, Windex and Ziploc. ...His brother, Fisk Johnson, heads SC Johnson

...Forbes magazine estimated the wealth of the married father of four this month at $2 billion, making him No. 595th richest on its list of the world's billionaires.

YEAH! for the good guys. Let's hope this is the beginning of a trend.

reply to post by crimvelvet


(I reproduced part of the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs Press Release at the end of this post for easy reference.)

According to that report we are talking six women and four juveniles, "kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint" as described in my post above. PLUS prostitution, PLUS human trafficking across both state and national lines AND Illegal immigration.

The ABSOLUTE minimum charge would be 292–365 months or 24 years 4 months to 30 years 5 months for the ONE charge of "kidnapping, abduction, or unlawful restraint" with the additional 6 points for sexual abuse and 2 points for held over thirty days, for EACH of the ten humans they enslaved.

The maximum could be as high as 10 consecutive life sentences.

So what did these human scum get for sentencing?
Raul Cortes-Meza, the defendant’s nephew, received 10 years in prison
Juan Cortes-Meza was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison.
Francisco Cortes-Meza was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

THAT smells of plea bargaining. So did they throw the book at the Ring Leader???

Amador Cortes-Meza. The ring leader:
”...serve 40 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release on charges of sex trafficking of minors; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; transporting minors for the purpose of prostitution; smuggling aliens into the United States for purposes of prostitution; and conspiracy to do the same...”

The fact it is NOT under 33 years means the judge did take into account some of the other charges bringing it to level 42 (360 months to life) but discounted the multiple counts VERY HEAVILY. He certainly had the option of ten consecutive sentences for what ever number of years he assigned.

How does this compare to punishment for other crimes?

...the average sentence imposed in 1990 was 59.2 months, excluding life sentences. The average length peaked at 66.4 months in 1995 and then declined to 46.9 months in 2002.... www.libraryindex.com...

We can then compare it to the results of a police “sting” Because of $31 in marijuana sales, Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow is now serving 10 years in prison, has been taken away from her four young children and husband...

The question is, was this a “just” sentencing”

My initial knee jerk reaction was - HECK NO!
If someone deserves 10 years for selling pot then ALL of these men deserve TEN consecutive LIFE sentences.

Then I calmed down and took a longer view.

We KNOW this is a common practice. So the judge needed to send a message.

1. WE WILL treat this as a serious crime.
2. If you get caught up in it and turn states evidence you will be rewarded with a lighter sentence.
3. If you do not KILL the women/girls we will not kill/imprison you for life.

Also he must take into account that if the sentence is too “harsh” it could be used as a possible reason for appeal.

No I do not like the sentencing but I understand the reasoning behind it. And like the rest of you (and no doubt the judge too) WE KNOW true justice will be done as soon as these guys walk into the prison.

“The victims suffered sexual abuse, physical assaults, threats of harm to their families, and daily degradation all because of this defendant’s greed and callous disregard for them as individuals.   The court’s sentence clearly reflects the seriousness of these awful sex trafficking crimes,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We are committed to prosecuting sex traffickers and vindicating victims’ rights, as they were vindicated today.”  
 
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates said, “No one wants to believe that there are people who will enslave other human beings and require them to commit innumerable commercial sex acts.  Yet this intolerable crime is happening right in our own neighborhoods in metropolitan Atlanta. This defendant tricked young girls and juveniles into leaving their families in Mexico, beat them, and forced them into more than 20 acts of prostitution a night here in Atlanta. These survivors courageously testified against the defendant and played a significant role in bringing him to justice. This defendant earned every day of his 40 year sentence.”

According to the charges and other information presented in court, Cortes-Meza was the ring leader of an organization that brought 10 victims, including four juveniles, to the United States and forced them into prostitution.   Nine of the victims testified at trial that the defendant, his brother, Juan Cortes-Meza, and a nephew, Francisco Cortes-Meza, would trick and deceive young women in Mexico into coming to the United States.   Amador and his family members would pretend to be romantically interested in the young girls, many of whom were from rural areas and some of whom did not have much education.   The defendant and his co-conspirators would promise the victims they would have a life together and then tell them they needed to travel to the United States to make money working in restaurants or cleaning homes.   Victims testified at trial that Amador Cortes-Meza was physically abusive both in Mexico and the United States if they disagreed with his plans or told him no....  

...Five co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to various human trafficking crimes.   Francisco Cortes-Meza was sentenced to 20 years in prison.   Juan Cortes-Meza was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison. Raul Cortes-Meza, the defendant’s nephew, received 10 years in prison.    Five co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to various human trafficking crimes.   Francisco Cortes-Meza was sentenced to 20 years in prison.   Juan Cortes-Meza was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison. Raul Cortes-Meza, the defendant’s nephew, received 10 years in prison.    www.justice.gov...

NOTE to SKL You knew I would throw a monkey wrench into the discussion didn't you?

reply to post by soficrow


First time I heard of it. Wonder who the girl is... Like a friend's daughter or what? In most cases it is aunts uncles and close family friends that get busted.

I see an awful lot of people wanting to see this man suffer in an amount equal to or greater than the pain he caused.

What a waste and an obviously counterproductive response. I say let him free and make him be productive. He is obviously intelligent and good at running a business and could probably contribute to society quite a bit.

Ahhh but we must get our pound of flesh! To what end purpose? How does a punishment that does not focus on training and rehabilitating a person do anything at all to improve our world?

Perhaps removing "Scum" such as him would in and of itself improve our world? He isn't the real scum, the real scum are his customers. The ones we will never get to. He is simply a man with no morality who is filling a demand. And in all likely hood he isn't even the top dog who really knows what is going on either.

I want to see things like this end as much as any of you, possibly more. I had the opportunity in college to work with people who really knew about this trade and actively assisted women in third world countries. I have heard and seen some of the torture and ruined lives this can cause.

I once had a terrible fly problem in my yard. I killed thousands of flies, bought fly traps, and still they persisted. As it turns out neighborhood dogs were using my grass to deposit fly bait. I cleaned it up and keep the dogs out of my yard. I no longer have a fly problem.

If you want to solve the problem attack the root cause. If you can't find the root cause don't get angry and waste your energy in a rage against the symptom, keep looking.

reply to post by soficrow

Has everyone noticed this one:

Here is more to add to the collection:

This whole subject sickens me and I see red every time someone "defends" this group of people who have 14 centuries of cruelty in their background and continue to practice it to this day.

I often wonder if my ex-brother's cruelty, contempt for women,and utter lack of conscience traces back to our Lebanese grandfather....

Slavery was legal until 1962 in Saudi Arabia and is still practiced. It became "illegal" due to international pressure but Islam and the practices of the Prophet Mohammad which are to be emulated, condone and encourage the keeping of slaves especially female slaves. I have heard Muslims coming to the USA sometimes even bring their slaves with them, especially Muslim diplomats.

Saudis deny human trafficking allegations
By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
Published: 00:00 August 13, 2006

The Saudi government has denied a recent report released by the US Department of State ranking the kingdom as one of the largest human traffickers in the world....

The US Government report said household servants and drivers are among the most abused group of workers in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia also serves as a safe haven for children smuggled from Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Mali and Afghanistan who are forced to beg or work as street vendors, the report said.

It also alleged that the Saudi government does not protect victims properly and also accused the Saudi government of not being serious in enforcing law against human traffickers.... en.wikipedia.org...

...Dr. Abdul-Latif Mushtahari, the general supervisor and director of homiletics and guidance at the Azhar University, has said on the subject of justifications for Islamic permission of slavery:[125]

"Islam does not prohibit slavery but retains it for two reasons. The first reason is war (whether it is a civil war or a foreign war in which the captive is either killed or enslaved) provided that the war is not between Muslims against each other - it is not acceptable to enslave the violators, or the offenders, if they are Muslims. Only non-Muslim captives may be enslaved or killed. The second reason is the sexual propagation of slaves which would generate more slaves for their owner."

...The author Ronald Segal[88] distinguishes the Islamic slave trade from that of the Atlantic or European slave trade by highlighting the aspects of its duration and nature: "It began in the middle of the seventh century and survives today in Mauritania and Sudan. With the Islamic slave trade, we're talking of 14 centuries rather than four." Further, "whereas the gender ratio of slaves in the Atlantic trade was two males to every female, in the Islamic trade, it was two females to every male."

...Unlike Western societies which in their opposition to slavery spawned anti-slavery movements whose numbers and enthusiasm often grew out of church groups, no such grass-roots organizations ever developed in Muslim societies. In Muslim politics the state unquestioningly accepted the teachings of Islam and applied them as law. Islam, by sanctioning slavery - however mild a form it generally took - also extended legitimacy to the nefarious traffic in slaves....

In 1925 slaves were still being bought and sold at Mecca in the ordinary way of trade.[110] The slave market there consisted of the offspring of local slaves as well as those imported from the Yemen, Africa, and Asia Minor.

By the Treaty of Jedda, May 1927 (art.7), concluded between the British Government and Ibn Sa'ud (King of Nejd and the Hijaz) it was finally agreed to suppress the slave trade in Saudi Arabia. Then by a decree issued in 1936 the importation of slaves into Saudi Arabia was prohibited unless it could be proved that they were slaves at that date.[111]

In 1953, sheikhs from Qatar attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II included slaves in their retinues, and they did so again on another visit five years later.[112]

It was not until 1962 that all slavery practice or trafficking in Saudi Arabia was prohibited.

By 1969 it could be observed that most Muslim states had abolished slavery although it existed in the deserts of Iraq bordering Arabia and it still flourished in Saudi Arabia, the Yemen and Oman.[113] Slavery was not formally abolished in Yemen and Oman until the following year.[114] The last nation to formally enact the abolition of slavery practice and slave trafficking was the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in 1981.[115]

Gordon describes the lack of homegrown Islamic abolition movements as owing much to the fact that it was deeply anchored in Islamic law. By legitimizing slavery and - by extension - traffic in slaves, Islam elevated those practices to an unassailable moral plain. As a result, in no part of the Muslim world was an ideological challenge ever mounted against slavery. The political and social system in Muslim society would have taken a dim view of such a challenge.[116] Some Muslim leaders, like Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah did ban slavery, but it had little influence in the Islamic world.[117]

In 2003 a high-level Saudi jurist, Shaykh Saleh Al-Fawzan, issued a fatwa claiming “Slavery is a part of Islam. Slavery is part of jihad, and jihad will remain as long there is Islam...
According to multiple sources, religious calls have also been made to capture and enslave Jewish women.


As American journalist John J. Miller said, "It is hard to imagine a serious person calling for America to enslave its enemies. Yet a prominent Saudi cleric, Shaikh Saad Al-Buraik, recently urged Palestinians to do exactly that with Jews: 'Their women are yours to take, legitimately. God made them yours. Why don't you enslave their women?'" [123]

Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri of Karbala expressed the view in 1993 that the enforcement of servitude can occur but is restricted to war captives and those born of slaves.[124]
en.wikipedia.org...

I have never been able to understand why American blacks convert to Islam when Islamic countries captured, traded and held them as slaves within living memory and view them with contempt.

While much has been written concerning the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, surprisingly little attention has been given to the Islamic slave trade across the Sahara, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. While the European involvement in the Trans Atlantic slave trade to the Americas lasted for just over three centuries,

the Arab involvement in the slave trade has lasted fourteen centuries, and in some parts of the Muslim world is still continuing to this day.

...Almost 200 years after the British outlawed the slave trade in 1807, slave raids and the sale of slaves in Muslim markets continues in countries like Sudan. The slave trade remained legal in Saudi Arabia until 1962, when under international pressure it was finally abolished. However, there are persistent, credible reports, that slavery persists in Saudi Arabia, and even that slaves from Sudan are ending up in Saudi Arabia.

Recently, a former slave from the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, Mende Nazer, had her autobiography: "Slave: My True Story" published. Mende was captured in 1992, she was first a slave to a rich Arab family in Khartoum, and then in 2002 to a Sudanese diplomat in London, from whom she escaped and sought political asylum....

...By the Middle Ages, the Arab word "abd" was in general use to denote a black slave while the word "mamluk" referred to a white slave. Even as late as the 19th Century, it was noted that in Mecca "there are few families.that do not keep slaves.they all keep mistresses in common with their lawful wives."

It was noted that black slaves were castrated "based on the assumption that the blacks had an ungovernable sexual appetite."

...Just in the 19th Century, for which we have more accurate records, 1.2 million slaves were brought across the Sahara into the Middle East, 450000 down the Red Sea and 442000 from East African coastal ports. That is a total of 2 million black slaves - just in the 1800's. At least 8 million more were calculated to have died before reaching the Muslim slave markets. ...

...While the mortality rate for slaves being transported across the Atlantic was as high as 10%, the percentage of slaves dying in transit in the Trans Sahara and East African slave trade was between 80 and 90%!....

... Eunuchs were created by completely amputating the scrotum and penis of eight to twelve year old African boys. Hundreds of thousands of young boys bled to death during this gory procedure. The survival rate from this process ranged from 1 in 10 to 1 in 30. These castrated boys brought the highest price at the slave market.....

SHARIA LAW AND SLAVERY

Islam's Black Slaves notes: "the Quran stipulated that female slaves might lawfully be enjoyed by their masters." Mohammad himself owned many slaves, some of whom he captured in wars of conquest and some he purchased. The names of forty slaves owned by Mohammad are recorded by Muslim chroniclers. Islamic law (Sharia) contains elaborate regulations for slavery. A slave had no right to be heard in court (testimony was forbidden by slaves), slaves had no right to property, could marry only with the permission of the owner, and were considered to be chattel, that is the movable property, of the slave owner. Muslim slave owners were specifically entitled by Sharia law to sexually exploit their slaves, including hiring them out as prostitutes.

One reason why very little has been written about the Arab involvement in slavery is that traditional Islamic culture still condones slavery. The Sharia, the codified Islamic law which is based upon the teachings and example of Mohammad, contains explicit regulations for slavery. One of the primary principles of Islam is following the example of Mohammad. Whatever Mohammad did, we must do, what he forbade, we must forbid, what he did not forbid, we may not forbid. As Mohammad himself traded in slaves and owned slaves, accumulating multiple wives, even marrying a six year old, and having concubines - slavery and the sexual exploitation of women is deeply ingrained in Islamic tradition.... www.christianaction.org.za...

Slaves in Saudi

Naeem Mohaiemen

On July 15, Human Rights Watch issued a report on the condition of Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. The revelation that "Guest Workers" are systematically abused in Saudi Arabia should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with that region's history. What a shame that it took Sarah Whitson, executive director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa Division, to finally speak the unpalatable truth. "We found men and women in conditions resembling slavery," said Whitson in the press conference announcing their findings. The report described "the pervasive abuses foreign workers endure...the abysmal and exploitative labor conditions many workers face, and the utter failure of the justice system to provide redress." The real question is this -- why did the Islamic world not uncover these human rights abuses, so close to the holy city of Mecca?

Based on interviews taken in Bangladesh, India and the Philippines, HRW found abysmal and exploitative labor practices, wanton rape of women workers, and beheading of guest workers accused of crimes without proper legal process. Anyone who has visited Saudi Arabia knows the racism with which ordinary Saudis treats the brown and black-skinned masses that come for Hajj. Like hundreds of Bangladeshis every year, my parents endured these indignities during their recent pilgrimage. When he returned from Mecca, my father told me, "To them, we will always be miskeen (beggar). Doesn't matter what we do, or where we come from. They see our skin and don't need to see more." If this is how pilgrims are treated, imagine how much worse is the plight of the "Guest Worker." Yet, we Muslims remain silent on these abuses -- after all the Saudis are the keepers of Islam's holiest site, so they cannot possibly be racist!.... www.thedailystar.net...