Indonesians Held Captive in Cambodia to be Repatriated This Week
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2 August 2022 11:52 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) said the dozens of Indonesian citizens who were trafficked and are being held against their will in Cambodia would be repatriated this week. They will be able to go back to Indonesia immediately after they are evacuated from captivity.
"More or less, after they are evacuated today, after two or three days they can be repatriated to Indonesia," BP2MI chairman Benny Rhamdani said in Jakarta, Monday, August 1.
Benny said that the Indonesian government will evacuate all Indonesian citizens held captive in Cambodia. The workers will stay in Phnom Penh first after the six-hour journey from the area they are being captivated. Then, the BP2MI will receive them in Indonesia and immediately repatriate them to their respective hometowns.
On July 18, Benny said, the BP2MI received information that 52 Indonesians were being held in Cambodia in a location some 260 kilometers from Phnom Penh. Then on July 19 and 20, the BP2MI communicated with the Foreign Affairs' Ministry's Directorate of Protection of Indonesian Citizens.
They contacted two of the Indonesians in captivity, Andar Sugianto and Yuda Prabowo, who said they were being held against their will, even physically abused. They also said they needed immediate evacuation.
On July 31, the Cambodian Police and the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh rescued seven more Indonesians who were being held captive by investment scammers. In total, 62 Indonesians fell into the employment scam.
ANTARA
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