Rights defender treats former combatants as potential victims of labour slavery

The case of a former combatant who ended up in labour slavery in Kalmykia is not unique; and this trend is gaining momentum as recruiters are benefiting from people's vulnerable situation. The most problematic regions in Southern of Russia are the Rostov Region and the Stavropol Territory.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after leaving the combat zone, a participant in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine found himself at the railway station in Rostov-on-Don without money; he agreed to an offer to work in a farm in Kalmykia, but ended up in labour slavery. He tried to escape twice, the second attempt was successful.

Recently, a new vulnerable group has emerged that is at risk of labour slavery – those who are looking for a way to volunteer for the SMO, or those who have just returned from there, the "Alternativa" movement has reported.

"It is obvious that SMO participants had experienced difficult events for their psyche, after which they want to forget and relax – and they finally find themselves in an unknown place without money, without communication and documents, and from this point they have a direct way – to recruiters," the spokesperson of the "Alternativa" movement has stated.

According to his version, in the Southern Federal District (SFD), the most problematic region for labour slavery is the Rostov Region. In the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), the Stavropol Territory is notable from this viewpoint, while in Dagestan, the number of such cases is fewer.

In the above case of the former SMO participant in Kalmykia, physical violence was not used, the source has noted. "Another issue is that there was psychological violence. When a person is in a confined space, every step is under supervision and, if we take the case in Kalmykia, the nearest facility with people is very far from the farm; then, it breaks the will ... In this case, he was forced to work, and they promised to pay him later," the source has added.