Greek court fines migrant farm workers who were shot by their bosses when they demanded six-months' wages

A Greek court has been branded 'racist' after 35 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers who were shot by their employers when they asked to be paid for their work were fined €12,000.

The impoverished migrants have each been ordered to pay €360 after they requested a judge they deemed to be biased against them was replaced during the trial in the city of Patras.


28 of the strawberry pickers were injured when, in April 2013, they were attacked with shotguns after approaching their bosses to demand the six months of outstanding wages.

But in a case that drew global attention to the appalling conditions migrant workers face in Greece, the farm owner and head foreman were cleared of any wrongdoing, while two other supervisors were released pending an appeal, despite being convicted of GBH and 'aiding by omission'.

28 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers were injured in the shotgun attack at a farm close to the town of Manolada in Peloponnese province.

Desperate after working for six months without pay, the group of workers decided to approach their bosses on April 17, 2013. The farm supervisors retaliated by opening fire on them.

The case came to court the following year in a controversial trial that saw the migrants' lawyers request a change of judge after they accused her of showing bias towards the accused.

That request was refused, however, and in July last year the farm's owner Nikos Vaggelatos and head foreman were found not guilty. Two other supervisors were sentenced to 14 years and seven months and eight years and seven months, respectively but were walked free pending an appeal.



It has since emerged that 35 migrant workers, including the 28 who were shot, have each been fined €360 for unsuccessfully requesting the change of judge.

Speaking to VICE: Petrol Konstantinou, the coordinator of Greece;s KEERFA (United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat) said: 'During the trial, lawyer Moses Karampidis made a request for an 'exemption of seat'. Actually, he asked for the judge to be completely replaced by another person, because he perceived her behaviour as completely scandalous.'

'We see these fines as racist and we demand for them to be erased,' he added.

Large protests are expected in Padros following news of the fine. Demonstrations were also staged during the trial itself last year.



In a rare criticism of a court decision, Greece's largest labor union reacted with fury to verdict last July, branding it 'against the public sense of justice and fairness' and arguing that the farm supervisors should have faced more serious charges.

'To shoot and injure people ... who dared to ask for six months in unpaid wages cannot be described as a mere assault,' the GSEE union said.

'We express our dissatisfaction with the acquittal of a businessman and his associates who are responsible for the ... mistreatment of 200 workers, mostly from Bangladesh, at the site, who live in squalid conditions and without working rights and who had been left unpaid,' it said.

A lawyer for the victims, Moisis Karabeyidis, said he was upset that the men had been set free, adding that he planned to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights at The Hague.

'This decision is an outrage and a disgrace ... The court showed an appalling attitude toward the victims,' he said.