Spanish Prosecutors Seek 64-Year Sentence in Moroccan Worker Exploitation Case

The Prosecutor’s sentence is heavy: 44 years in prison for one of the leaders and nearly 20 years for his accomplice, for crimes against foreign citizens, against workers’ rights and for fraud, in the conspiracy that would have allowed them to "capture" workers in Morocco and exploit them professionally on the poultry farms in the province of Lugo, reports the website cope.es.

In addition to these two alleged masterminds of the conspiracy, the Prosecutor’s office has brought charges against sixteen other people who, in one way or another, collaborated in the development of this network designed to "enrich" themselves at the expense of the efforts of a group of workers.

These are known to have suffered greatly after sometimes working up to "seventy hours" a week. Among the eighteen accused are people of Spanish, Moroccan and Portuguese nationalities.

The Prosecutor noted that this exploitation took place between 2006 and 2008, when the alleged ringleader "devoted himself to organizing and facilitating the entry into Spain of Moroccan citizens," enriching himself with the money they were willing to pay him in exchange for the possibility of regularizing their administrative situation in the country.

To circumvent immigration legislation and profit from the arrival of Moroccan workers in Spain, the leaders contacted an entrepreneur in the agricultural sector in Lugo who, through his profession, knew the farmers in the Castro de Rei region and its surroundings.

This is how "together, they sought to enrich themselves by attracting foreigners," details the Prosecutor, "who were willing to pay money in exchange for their work in [Spain]."

According to the indictment, the ringleader would have subjected these Moroccan workers to inhumane working conditions while, at the same time, "the money they received was well below the amount provided for by law." In a way, modern slavery.