On 12 December 2023, a judgement of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) based in Strasbourg was prepared and published in the HUDOC database, concerning the case of Jasuitis and Simaitis v. Lithuania. 

The case concerned the applicants’ conviction for trafficking in human beings. On an unspecified date the applicants placed a job advertisement online, seeking “attractive girls” for “online communication with people from different countries of the world in English”. In 2012-13 they hired a number of women to work as “web models”. But complaints were made by one woman that they had used threats and psychological violence to force her to carry out that work.

The Court found that the relevant law in this case and its interpretation by the national courts had been clear. The applicants should have been able to see that their actions would have come under the definition of trafficking in human beings as set out in the Lithuanian Criminal Code.

 Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights judgement (12 December 2023)

Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)

Council of Europe: ECHR HUDOC database