He ate dog food to survive. Sentence in Sweden for forcing Poles to work

On Tuesday, a court in Malmoe sentenced a 35-year-old man to two years and 10 months in prison for forcing three Poles into slave labor. The judgment sets a precedent and may help in the fight against labor exploitation.

Judge Hakan Olaussen emphasized that the Poles had been working in very difficult conditions for half a year without agreed pay. – One of the men received practically no salary. For some time he was so hungry that he ate apples from the orchard and dog food – Olaussen justified the sentence.

Formally, the 35-year-old was convicted of human trafficking, and the man is also ordered to pay the victims a total of PLN 900,000. kroner compensation (approx. EUR 83,000). Two of his associates received prison sentences for money laundering in business activities, one of which received a suspended prison sentence, and the other – one year and three months.

According to Linda Erhorn from the Swedish Border Police, the verdict is a precedent and will provide an indication of what behavior leads to a conviction for the crime of human trafficking in connection with the exploitation of workers.

Three Poles, in crisis of homelessness, were lured to work in southern Sweden with promises of attractive earnings. In fact, they testified, they received only small amounts for long hours of excessive work, without protective equipment for six days a week or no days off at all. They lived in an unheated attic in difficult sanitary conditions.

Shortly after arriving, the workers learned from their 35-year-old boss who had recruited them that they actually owed him money. The debt was to finance travel, accommodation and tools. The Poles testified that they were under the constant control of their boss. In fact, the man hired workers illegally and offered their services to his clients, of whom there were many.

The ordeal of the guest workers lasted six months, and the case came to light when, in February, one of the injured Poles in a state of hypothermia was found by a police car. A man without money and documents walked several kilometers along the E65 road to the nearest town, Ystad. The police then conducted a search at a farm near Skurup, from where two more Poles were released.

From Stockholm Daniel Zyśk (PAP)

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