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Victoria Mindova 

Between 10 years in prison and a life sentence may be the punishment for two 24-year-old Bulgarians who have kidnapped, sexually molested and forced into prostitution three young girls, also from Bulgaria. One of them is 20 years old and of proven mental retardation. The arrest took place in the region of Argolis, in the Peloponnese and Greek authorities have raised charges of kidnapping, rape and human trafficking.

The case was revealed after on Thursday last week, the Bulgarian Embassy in Athens had informed the police about the disappearance of the young girl. The traces of the missing girl with intellectual disabilities had taken the investigation of the Bulgarian authorities to the southern neighbour of Bulgaria and they had sought help from their Greek counterparts. The Greek police acted quickly and efficiently which is proved also by the rapid settlement of the case.

The police investigation carried out by the Greek side, by the security department in Nafplio in cooperation with the department for fighting human trafficking at the Security Directorate of Attica brought results and the police officers found the traces of suspects. The person in charge of public relations of the police department of the Peloponnese, Petrakis Papanikolaou, reported exclusively for GRReporter:

"The two Bulgarian citizens were arrested at the scene of abduction and forced prostitution of a 20-year-old girl with mental retardation near Ermioni, Argolis, in particular in Ermioni village on Saturday morning, 3 December 2011. The victim had wounds on the extremities - hands and feet, indicating systematic abuse on her." Petrakis Papanikolaou explained that the girl was given first aid and psychological support and she was still convalescing from her physical trauma at the hospital in Nafplio. By mid-week, she is expected to be transferred to a specialized hospital in Athens that can take care of her mental condition and meet her specific needs. It is known that the other victim is already in Bulgaria with her family, and there is no information about the third girl yet.

According to information submitted by the person in charge of public relations of the police department in the Peloponnese, the 20-year-old girl had been held against her will since October. Both defendants had arranged the "customers" on the phone, drove her to the meeting place by car and then, took her back. The cost of a "meeting" was 25 Euros.

GRReporter will continue to follow the case.