Press
An Indian low-wage worker bleeds to death in the south of Rome because he was not taken to hospital after a serious accident in the fields. Now his employer is in prison.
Rome – After the death of an Indian harvest worker in Italy, his employer has been arrested. The farmer is accused of brutally letting the 31-year-old worker bleed to death after an accident in a field south of Rome.
Last month, the Indian man got caught in a machine that severed his right arm and crushed his legs. The farmer is said to have simply driven him to his house and left him lying there with his severed arm in a fruit crate next to it. The Indian man later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
According to official information, investigators now want to bring the 38-year-old Italian to court for intentional killing. The autopsy of the body showed that the Indian died of massive blood loss. He could probably have been saved if he had been treated immediately. The arrest warrant speaks of “inhumane behavior that runs counter to the most basic values of solidarity.”
The case sparked great outrage – also because working conditions in Italy’s agriculture have long been criticized. According to estimates, around 230,000 people are employed illegally in the EU country – including many migrants from countries such as India and Pakistan who work for low wages.
In addition, the owner of the company, the father of the accused, blamed the victim for the accident. He said on Italian television: “The recklessness of this worker is costing us all dearly.”
It has since emerged that investigations were launched against the defendant’s father in 2019 for illegally recruiting cheap foreign workers. The workers there are said to have received a monthly wage of less than 200 euros. In addition, the authorities found that the sanitary facilities were in a deplorable state.
The way in which foreign cheap workers are treated has now also drawn attention from politicians. The right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused the employer of a “disgusting attitude”. President Sergio Mattarella criticised the “exploitation of the weakest and most defenceless”.
It is uncertain, however, whether the case will have concrete consequences in the form of stricter regulations. In Italy, governments of various political compositions have previously announced improvements without much happening. dpa
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