Some 66 trafficked victims who were held hostage abroad are yet to get proper legal support and compensation, said the victims on Monday.
They also said although they filed cases against the traffickers with their respective police stations, no criminal has been punished as yet.
They, however, said if the authority concerned would exact proper punishment to the traffickers, the situation would not get so alarming which has happened in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
They said this at a press conference at city's Dhaka Reporters Unity. It was organised by Anirban Survivor Voice, a voluntary group. Victims, among others, were present at the press meet.
Of the total number, 44 victims returned from Iran and 22 from Iraq between the period 2013 and 2014. They were held hostage and tortured ruthlessly by the traffickers in those countries for ransom.
The Morning Sun Enterprise, East Bengal Overseas, Idea International, Meghna Trade International and the Bangladesh Migration International sent workers to Iraq. Each job seeker gave Tk 350,000 to Tk 400,000 as migration cost, they said.
The migrants said after reaching Iraq the recruitment agencies locked them up at a camp in Najaf city. The recruiters did not engage them in any job during their 10 months in captivity.
And others went to Iran from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman with promise for good jobs in Greece.
Ilias Hawlader, who returned from Iran last year, said traffickers promised him a good job with decent salary in Iran but he was kept hostage and tortured ruthlessly for ransom.
He travelled to the UAE through Poly Trade, a recruitment agency in Dhaka.
"They claimed Tk 1.0 million from me but I was unable to give the same," he said adding that my family paid some Tk 0.3 million to their local agent to free me.
The victims said they lodged complaints with the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (EWOE) but did not get proper support. Besides, the ministry officials harassed them in many ways, they alleged.
The returnee migrants sought compensation for their physical, mental, social and financial losses and demanded employment opportunities at home.
On behalf of the victim migrants, Mojammel Haque, Mohammad Masud and Abu Sayed Khan spoke at the press conference while many other victims were present.
They demanded maximum punishment to the culprits and rehabilitation of the victims so that such offences can be reduced.
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