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The porn connection

Summer 2006- The Danish journalists Thomas Sael and Ulrich Dahlin, at that time working for the Danish trade union magazine 3F, were looking for help from Belgium. They were investigating the fate of sex slaves in Denmark - at that moment often coming from Nigeria and Ghana. In Kopenhagen the girls were involved in forced prostitution for wich they often made use of a porn club -Cinerotic - near Kopenhagen station.

Strangely the owners of the porn club at that time were also active as top managers in a Belgian financial holding. Thomas Sael and Ulrich Dahlin wanted confirmation of the identity of the owners involved. Brigitte Alfer brought them into contact with Marleen Teugels who could confirm - using financial databanks - the owners of the Danish porn club indeed were the top mananagers of the holding. With the confirmation Thomas Sael and Ulrich Dahlin could safely publish their story in 3F.

December 2006-February 2007 - Marleen Teugels investigates the link between the porn club and the top businessmen involved. The Danish colleagues help her using the FOI act to get all the official papers of Trois-A-Deux, the firm owning Cinerotic. Further investigations demonstrate the Belgian financial construction. All information points to possible high benefits of the club involved - that are not immediately visible in the bookkeeping. Teugels went to talk to the sex slaves and investigates the situation of the girls using the porn club.

Non-stop Reden, an organisation fighting women trafficking and Norwegian and Danish scientists could confirm the terrible sitiuation of the sex slaves in Denmark. If they talk to the police, they're being sent back home - and they usually fall into the hands of the maffia. Belgium is protecting victims of trafficking that help the police catching the traffickers. Teugels publishes her story in the Flemish news weekly Knack as well as a French translation in Tendances.

February 2007 - Immediately after the publication in Belgium Brigitte Alfter writes a cover article in the Danish newspaper Information discussing the sad fate of the sex slaves in Denmark, compared to Belgium. In Belgium victims of trafficking that help the police catching the traffickers can get a permit to stay and a work permit. Denmark is doing nothing to solve trafficking.

After the publication of this story - and other media covering the problem some Nigerian sex slaves win their court case in Denmark. These girls are not being sent back to their mother land and can build up a new future in Denmark.

Read the stories in Knack:

De ridderlijke connectie met Deense porno

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