Poor immigrants are kept in slavery-like conditions in Portugal’s agricultural sector.
Farm gate in the Braganca region of Portugal. Illustration image. Ark. Neyman – NV Media / Alamy Stock Photo, AOP
Portuguese criminal police announced on Wednesday that they had arrested four people on suspicion of holding a man in slavery-like conditions for 17 years.
The 54-year-old man was exploited, among other things, by “renting” him to third parties for agricultural work in the northern parts of Portugal, in the Branca region.
The victim was subjected to physical and mental violence. The man suffered from learning difficulties and had no close relatives.
The suspects were in possession of the victim’s documents and controlled his every move, says the Portuguese criminal police.
According to the police, the man had to live in a van without “minimum conditions for living, health, hygiene and food”.
The man managed to escape after 17 years of slavery.
The victim has been left with injuries affecting his ability to exercise, from which he will suffer for the rest of his life.
Police did not disclose the victim’s nationality.
Cases of labor exploitation and human trafficking have increased in Portugal, especially in the agricultural sector. Most of the time, the question is about poor immigrants who have been imprisoned for unpaid work on farms.
The matter was reported by Reuters.
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