Senators seek answers from Navy on human trafficking by sailors in Bahrain

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Senators seek answers from Navy on human trafficking by sailors in Bahrain

Geoff Ziezulewicz

6 hours ago

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The headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, home to roughly 7,500 sailors and other personnel. (Navy)

Three U.S. senators are calling on Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite to provide answers regarding what the sea service is doing about human trafficking involving U.S. sailors stationed on the Middle Eastern island nation of Bahrain.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, sent a letter to Braithwaite on Tuesday requesting “immediate information on the steps you have taken to remedy the deplorable circumstances in Bahrain, combat the broader culture that allowed these crimes to flourish, and ensure that justice is delivered to trafficking survivors and their family members.”

The letter comes in the wake of a series of stories published last month by Military Times that revealed for the first time a web of investigations into sailors trafficking Thai women working as prostitutes on the island.

Those stories unearthed a shadowy subculture where sailors sought to traffic and pimp the women, often out of their taxpayer-funded apartments.

Allegations of sexual assault against the women and sailors shaking down other shipmates on behalf of Bahrain prostitutes were also revealed.

Tinder, Sailor, Hooker, Pimp: The U.S. Navy’s sex trafficking scandal in Bahrain

NCIS probes revealed evidence that U.S. sailors were housing prostitutes in their apartments, seizing the women’s passports and taking a cut of their earnings ― profiting from the sex trade that services shipmates in Bahrain.

Geoff Ziezulewicz

“We write with deep concern regarding U.S. Navy Sailors’ involvement in human trafficking in Bahrain,” the three senators wrote in a letter obtained by Military Times. “We look forward to your response and are committed to ensuring that the Navy has all the necessary authorities and resources to ensure that these horrific crimes never again occur at the hands of U.S. military personnel.”

Navy officials told Military Times earlier this year that there had been no new cases involving sailor trafficking or solicitation in Bahrain since late 2018, but the lawmakers wrote Tuesday that they were “concerned that these crimes are not confined to this location.”