The National Police have released a young woman whose parents were going to force her to marry a stranger in Pakistan and have arrested both her father and stepmother as alleged perpetrators of human trafficking for the purpose of forced marriage.
The victim was taken to Pakistan to carry out the forced marriage and since she refused to marry, her parents forbade her from returning to Spain, where she was subject to strict control of her movements and clothing, in addition to preventing her from any contact with her friends, as indicated. this Saturday the Police.
The police investigation, in which the Interior attaché and the consul in Pakistan have collaborated, began in September of this year, when a complaint was received about a young woman who had been transferred to her country of origin in June to contract a forced marriage.
After refusing to marry, she had remained in Pakistan against her will and was only allowed to leave the house for an hour and always accompanied by her mother, the police say.
The agents allowed the victim to be located in the Asian country and to be heard in a statement by videoconference, in which she assured that she lived in Spain with her father and stepmother and that both maintained tight control over her, given that they did not They allowed freedom of movement or basic decision.
And although she managed to get them to let her study, they did not allow the young woman to interact with anyone and forced her to go from home to school and from school to home. She was also forced to dress how her parents wanted her and her stepmother had withheld her documentation.
Likewise, the young woman reported that in the last year was when her situation got worse, since her father had decided that she had to get married, so he increased his control over her and bought her a plane ticket to Pakistan to arrange a marriage. marriage.
Because she refused to marry, her father and stepmother chose to return to Spain, but the young woman was not allowed to return with them and was left in Pakistan without her documentation and without the financial means to buy a return ticket.
And even though her parents returned to Spain, the young woman’s situation became increasingly worse, since she was monitored throughout the day and was only allowed to leave the house for an hour, always accompanied by a family member.
Finally, the victim has been freed, who upon returning to Spain has been taken in by an NGO specialized in human trafficking, while her father and stepmother have been arrested and the judicial authority has issued protection orders against them. prevent them from approaching or contacting the young woman.
