Amsterdam public prosecutor Jolanda de Boer has slammed police and the courts for not being tough enough on pimps, saying they continue to play down violence and forced prostitution.

De Boer made the comments during the trial of two Hungarian men accused of trafficking women, one of whom had previously been jailed for 21 months for similar offences, the Parool newspaper reported.

Demanding the two be jailed for 12 and six years, De Boer said the current case ‘cannot be seen in isolation from the very mild sentencing’ in the earlier case. This was despite the brutal actions of the men and the ‘serious violence and threats made against five young women,’ she said.

Barbaric

De Boer went on to criticise brothel owners for the ‘shameless’ way they require ‘vulnerable young women to work double shifts, seven days a week without asking themselves how barbaric this is.’

‘It is apparently considered quite normal that girls who are sometimes just 18 years old are working 130 hours a week, under the guise of being self-employed,’ she said.

The two Hungarians, Tamas R, aged 35, and Gyorgy M, aged 52, should be jailed for 12 and six years, De Boer told the court. The investigation led to the release of eight young women who had been forced to work in Amsterdam’s red light district.

The case continues.