The arrest of seven gendarmes accused of racial hatred against Asian workers in Portugal arouses commotion. Prime Minister Antonio Costa, himself of Indian origin, qualified the attitude of the agents “absolutely unacceptable”.
With our correspondent in Lisbon, Marie-Line Darcy
Beatings, humiliations, torture … The seven gendarmes arrested in the south of Portugal were motivated by racial hatred. There is no doubt about this for the prosecution, which has upheld 33 charges against these officers.
Their victims are immigrants and come from Bangladesh and India. They are agricultural workers in the horticultural region of Odemira, 200 km south of Lisbon.
Repeat offenders
Three of the accused are said to be repeat offenders and have already been sentenced to suspended prison sentences and expelled from the gendarmerie for a time. One of the gendarmes commented on the existence of videos shot on their beatings and thus initiated the investigation which has lasted for several months.
The subject has been sensitive in Portugal since the death of Ukrainian Igor Homenyuk, victim of ill-treatment inflicted by agents of the foreigners’ service. Last spring, it was the explosion of cases of Covid-19 in farming communities in this southern region that drew attention to the difficult living conditions of this community of nearly 40,000 workers.
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