Police in Oslo arrested nearly 70 persons earlier this week, all of them tied to the Nigerian circles of prostitutes who have been aggressively going after customers on downtown streets during the past year.
Of the 66 persons rounded up, 18 have been charged with offenses including human trafficking, pimping and dealing in stolen property. Prostitution itself is not illegal in Norway, but pimping is. Anyone considered to have organized prostitutes' activities is subject to prosecution, and a new law also opens for prosecution of persons buying sexual services.
All the persons arrested were women, except one. Most were held pending examination of their identity papers and proof of resident status.
It's believed that most of the active foreign prostitutes in Oslo have obtained resident status in another European country, thus giving them permission to live and work in Norway. Even athough Norway is not a member of the European Union, it is part of economic trade and cooperation agreements that allow EU residents to freely move across borders.
The 18 charged with serious offenses are aged 25 to 40 years. Those charged with human trafficking are suspected of transporting large sums of money out of Norway, believed to be individual prostitutes' revenues.
Defense attorney John Christian Elden, who represents 16 of the women, claimed the laws against human trafficking and pimping were being misused. "If two girls protect each other and try to help each other, both risk being criminals," he said.
Police and city officials, however, have been responding to massive complaints from Oslo residents about the pushy presence of prostitutes on the streets. They've been known to harass potential clients, and most are thought to belong to so-called "madames" who've helped them get established.
A Norwegian aid group that helps prostitutes with health and other issues generally supported the "clean-up," provided police can prove illegal exploitation of the women. "But we have to wait and see whether the police manage to distinguish between victims and criminals," said Liv Jessen of the group, called Pro-senter. "It's not always so simple."
