30 Bangladeshi victims go to European court

Some 30 aggrieved Bangladeshis, who were shot and injured on a strawberry farm in Greece in 2013, filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights in Brussels last week over Greece's alleged violation of human rights.

Tarikul Islam, minister and head of chancery at the Bangladesh Mission in Greece, yesterday confirmed this to The Daily Star over the phone.

“We have received information that some aggrieved Bangladeshis filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights to seek justice for the alleged violation of their rights. We will soon clarify our stance on this,” he said.

Zainul Abedin, president of All European Bangladesh Association, yesterday told the BBC Bangla Service that the Bangladeshis had filed the case as a Greek court acquitted the accused people and had not delivered any order regarding compensation for the victims.

Meanwhile, the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) said the migrants, who worked in strawberry plantations in Nea Manolada, submitted the complaint over violation of the Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which outlaws forced labour and slavery.

“It is the first time such a case has been filed against Greece, and the first time that the large-scale phenomenon of forced labour is to be addressed at a European level,” reports Moscow-based news agency Sputnik International, quoting a GCR press release.

“... Four international human rights organisations and an academic institution have announced their plan to support the lawsuit. The Greek authorities are invited on January 20, 2016, to comment on the breach of obligations under Article 4,” it added.

Around 200 migrants, mostly from Bangladesh and Pakistan, worked in the plantations. They protested against a six-month long delay in wages and went on a strike against the owner of the firm in April 2013.

The farm owner, Nicolas Vagela Kos, threatened that he would not pay the arrears if the demonstrators did not go back to work. But the agitating Bangladeshis refused to do so until their arrears were paid.

Then two staff of the farm opened fire on the workers, leaving 32 Bangladeshis injured.

On information, the Greek police rushed to spot and arrested the culprits. Four of them were sentenced to different terms.

In July 2014, two of the plantation's employees were sentenced to 14 years and seven months' and eight years and seven months' imprisonment for illegal use of firearms and inflicting bodily harm. However, the indicted were later allowed to pay monetary fines instead of serving the terms, adds Sputnik International.

Around 25,000 to 30,000 Bangladeshis are working in different sectors, especially in farming and garment, in Greece, according to the Bangladesh Mission in Greece.