Two Indian defendants arrested for exploiting farm workers have been released. MP from Beja asked for the acquittal of five defendants and a company from exploiting workers in the fields of Serpa.
Two of the five Asian defendants, who were in custody, who were being tried among others for the crime of trafficking in persons, were released late on Tuesday after the Public Prosecutor (MP) de Beja asked for the acquittal of all the defendants.
In view of the position of the MP, the defendants' lawyers filed applications advocating the immediate release of Gurjit Singh, of 34 year old, and Amandeep Singh, of 28 year old, both prisoners of the Prison of Beja, maintaining that there was no longer any risk of flight and disruption of the investigation, what was accepted by the Panel of Judges.
In closing arguments, the MP considered that no evidence was provided for the conviction of the five citizens, four indians, including a woman, and a pakistani, aged between 28 and 55 year old, It's a company, of the co-authorship of eleven crimes, eight being human trafficking, one of criminal association, one for illegal immigration assistance and one for illegal immigration assistance association, for which he asked for his acquittal.
The investigation of the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF) and titled by the Criminal Investigation and Action Department (DIAP) of Évora allowed to dismantle, what the prosecution called a criminal organization led by Gurjit Singh, of 34 year old, and Amandeep Singh, of 28 year old, both prisoners of the Prison of Beja and of which Sukhdev Singh belonged, of 55 years e Sukhpal Kaur Brar, a woman 29 year old, manager of the company Surpresa Erudita Unipessoal, Lda, through which exploited workers pass.
The organization, dismantled in the day 30 June 2021, operated from the town of Serra da Luz, in Pontinha, municipality of Lisbon and was operational in Serpa, Muhammad Ashraf, of 48 year old, the only Pakistani, since everyone else is indian.
Gurjit Singh was soon remanded in custody, while during the investigation the DIAP Prosecutor ordered the preventive detention of Amandeep Singh, who meanwhile had left Portugal, therefore it was not possible to comply with the arrest warrant. However, the SEF would later find out that the accused is being held in preventive detention at the Munich-Stadelheim Detention Center., in Germany, to the orders of process related to the transport of citizens of illegal Hindu origin in Europe. European Arrest Warrants were issued, forwarded to the Judicial Authorities in Germany, the individual having been extradited to Portugal, having been in Beja jail for about four months.
The DIAP Prosecutor asked that in case of conviction, the defendants were expelled from the country and jointly condemned to pay the Portuguese State the sum of 296.209,47 euros, money obtained at the expense of the exploited, which will also fall through the base.
The reading of the judgment is scheduled for the next day 4 of November at the Court of Beja.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
