Recruitment/targeting of victim:

An advertisement in Arabic in Arabic newspapers called for kidney donations and promised compensation. Consent of the victims was obtained without providing them with full medical information. The defendants recruited especially poor and uneducated victims.

Trafficking route and transportation: Two of the victims were convinced to stay for several days in the home of J.A. in Haifa (so the defendants could supervise them, limit their movements and prevent them from leaving) and were then taken to Ben-Gurion airport. The other victims were accompanied to Ben-Gurion airport. From the airport they were flown to the Ukraine, accompanied by one of the defendants' accomplices.

Details of the form of exploitation: The victims were deceived as to: the identity of J.A. (who represented himself as a knowledgeable physician), the medical dangers of the operation (they were promised the procedure was easy and would leave only a small scar) and the remuneration (they were promised $7000 - but not one received this sum). The victims S.E. and A.E. received half of the promised sum at some point and even this was later taken by the defendants and never returned. The victim A.E. received $500. The victim S.E. and W.H. didn't receive anything. Victim H.H. received $3500 and never received the rest of the money. When the victims had been taken to defendant's home, it was claimed that they owed him for rent and food. In addition to this they were not given any medical treatment upon return to Israel. They were threatened that if they complained to police they would be arrested, since what they did was an offence. Moreover, when victim S.E. demanded her money, she was physically assaulted by one of the defendants. The victims S.E., A.E., H.H. and S.S. were flown to Ukraine where their kidneys were removed. Some of them continued to suffer pain and weariness long after the operation.

The victim S.E. was a single mother, illiterate and working as a cleaner. She was invited to live in the house of J.A. for several days before the surgery. She was not allowed to leave the house alone for several days and her passport was withheld by the defendants, to prevent her from running away.

The victim A.E. was in emotional and mental distress and in conflict with his parents when he saw the advertisement. He was invited to live in the house of J.A. for several days. He was told the flight to Ukraine was a "trip" and that he would gain a lot of money. After he received the payment (half of what was promised), the money was taken by the defendants. They later charged him for "expenses" and "debts". He was left with only $500. He was then forced back to his parents’ house. The defendants threatened that the police would arrest him should he complain. He was so afraid that he didn't turn to medical treatment to remove the stitches from the surgery, but rather cut them in his own kitchen with a knife.

The victim H.H. was married, with one daughter, unemployed, in a poor financial situation and in debts. The defendant J.A. threatened that if he should complain to police, they "might arrest both of them".

The victim W.H. wished to donate a kidney due to altruistic motives. While he was told the surgery would leave only a small scar, seven months after the surgery he was continued to have pain and weariness and still unable to fully function at work.

The victim S.S. was unemployed and his financial situation was deteriorating when he saw the advertisement. The defendant J.A. assured him that the procedure was easy and harmless. On the day of his flight the defendants were arrested.

Date of arrest: 22 July 2007

Date of indictment: 12 August 2007

Language: All of the victims are Israeli citizens who belong to the Arab minority. The proficiency in Hebrew of four of them is unknown. The victim A.E. does not speak Hebrew.