Heavy sentences in Lecce for the
death
of
Mohammed Abdullah
, the 47-year-old Sudanese laborer who died of illness in the early afternoon of 20 July 2015 in the countryside between Nardò and Avetrana, in Salento,
while picking tomatoes on a day of scorching heat
, with the temperature close to 40 degrees.
The judges of the Court of Assizes (President Pietro Baffa) each sentenced
Giuseppe Mariano, 82, an agricultural entrepreneur from Porto Cesareo (Lecce), and Mohamed Elsalih, 42, originally from Sudan, to
14 years and six months in prison
. a mediator for the arrivals of seasonal laborers in Salento to be employed in the harvest in the fields.
The two were found guilty of
enslavement and manslaughter
.
Both were barred from holding public office.