HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: She Was Sold To The Highest Bidder At 17

Summary

Lurata Lyon recounts being kidnapped at 17 in downtown Pristina, Kosovo, after stepping out to buy a magazine. Her captors initially accused her of being a spy. When one began assaulting her, the gang’s boss stopped him after learning she was a virgin and described her as valuable “cargo.”

Lyon says she was held for several weeks, threatened, and psychologically manipulated. Her captors told her they had sold her to the highest bidder and forced her to watch sexual violence as preparation for what they intended to do to her. She believed she would eventually be trafficked into prostitution and might have her organs removed.

The gang tried to take her across a border into Albania, but the crossing was closed for the night by UN personnel. On the return trip, Lyon tried to signal staff at stops that she was in danger, though she never learned whether anyone contacted authorities. Back in Pristina, she overheard the boss say she was “more trouble than she’s worth” and order a guard to rape and kill her before the group left.

While the guard went to the bathroom, Lyon says she prayed, noticed keys on a table beside a gun, and chose the keys. She managed to unlock the apartment doors and flee down the stairs. After the guard caught up with and struck her outside, she called for help. An Italian police officer who had just finished his duty came to her aid and used his radio to summon UN units.

Lyon says she later testified at The Hague and that the gang’s boss was arrested and served a sentence. She describes herself as the only survivor from the group who escaped alive.

Presenters and Contributors

• Mariana van Zeller: Interviewer
• Lurata Lyon: Survivor