RYAZAN, Russia -- Exploitation of workers in a Russian garment factory led to one Kyrgyz woman attempting to kill herself, according to a Monday (March 19) statement by the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry (MVD).
About 100 workers, including 13 Kyrgyz nationals, were forced to work in a Ryazan garment factory, according to the statement, adding that one Kyrgyz woman cut her wrists in a suicide attempt. She survived, but factory managers did nothing to help, even refusing to call an ambulance because of the cost.
It was unclear how long the women were forced to work. Officials from Russia's and Kyrgyzstan's interior ministries visited the area in mid-March to investigate reports of the enslavement of Kyrgyz nationals.
Workers told authorities that the factory lured workers with generous-sounding contracts but then took away their passports and forced them to work almost 20 hours a day with only a 40-minute break.
