The Court considered that the accommodation nor for animals served.
The three defendants accused of human trafficking on a strawberry farm in Paço dos Negros, Almeirim municipality, were sentenced Thursday to 13 and 14 years in prison.
Pedro Vital, the owner of the farm and the company Herdade dos Morangos, and Nabin Giri, who owned Estima Mundo and supplied the labor, were sentenced to 14 years in prison. Upendra Paudel, a Nabin employee, was sentenced to 13 years.
The two Nepalese convicted were in pre-trial detention and will remain in this condition until the judgment is final, as the accused can appeal to the Evora Court of Appeal.
The court also decided to dissolve the companies Estima Mundo, which provided foreign workers, and Herdade dos Morangos, Lda, who used them as workers.
The tribunal of Santarém considered the situation of great gravity emphasizing that the conditions in which the 23 Nepalese were housed, in a shed without window, nor conditions of hygiene, nor for animals served.
In fact, the president of the group of judges said that if there were animals, in light of the legislation of animal abuse, it was already a crime.
After reading the decision, the wife of the agricultural entrepreneur Paço dos Negros attempted to invade the area of judges and lawyers, shouting that she wanted to speak with the presiding judge of the group. The woman was arrested by one of the prison guards and the court required a police reinforcement.
The case dates back to June 15, 2016 when a joint operation of the Labor Conditions Authority and the Aliens and Borders Service verified the presence of a number of foreign workers of Nepalese nationality working illegally on the farm.
