Thailand Pledges Cooperation to Free Moroccan Victims of Human Trafficking

Bangkok "is ready to cooperate with all African countries whose citizens have been trapped or detained" by human trafficking networks forcing them to work in Thailand, the embassy said in an official statement, noting that young Moroccans, aged 19 to 27, would be detained at the Myanmar border by criminal networks who had promised them jobs and high salaries in the e-commerce field.

"At this stage, it is difficult to determine the exact number of victims of these international human trafficking and online fraud networks, as well as their nationality and location," the embassy stressed, indicating that national and international investigations are underway to dismantle these networks. To limit the damage, the Thai government has already instructed its embassies in Africa to strengthen the conditions for issuing visas to African citizens.

The subject is already under debate in the Moroccan parliament. Parliamentarian Fatima Tamni of the Democratic Left Federation (FGD) has addressed a question to Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, referring to the detention of dozens of young Moroccans, forced to work for online fraud networks. According to her, the latter spend 17 hours sitting in front of computers, without rest and deprived of sleep, and suffer acts of torture when they try to contact their families.