Thirteen people received prison sentences ranging from nine months to three years by the Limassol district court on Wednesday after being found guilty of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, and for living off the earnings of prostitution.
The defendants, 11 men and two women, were linked to a case reported in 2009 by three women from Morocco who said that they were recruited to work as cabaret dancers in Cyprus but were forced to have sexual relations with clients.
The biggest sentence was handed down to a woman who owns a cabaret in Limassol. The court heard she was the one giving the orders and was also passing the women around to cabarets in other towns.