January 16, Beja — The Beja Court sentenced nine people, seven of whom were given prison sentences ranging from three to nine and a half years, and acquitted three others in a case involving the exploitation of immigrants in the Alentejo region .
During the reading of the verdict, which took place yesterday afternoon at the Beja Court, the presiding judge of the panel that tried the case, Judge Ana Batista, indicated that the highest effective prison sentence, in cumulative sentencing, of nine and a half years, was applied to the defendant who played a "central role" in this scheme.
The man, a Romanian national, was convicted of aiding illegal immigration, human trafficking, money laundering, and possession of a prohibited weapon.
The other six defendants with prison sentences, all foreign nationals, mostly Romanians, were generally convicted of similar crimes (although some were not charged with possession of a prohibited weapon or money laundering).
The panel of judges decided to acquit all of these defendants in relation to the crime of association with aiding illegal immigration, for which they had been indicted.
And the 30 charges of human trafficking were reduced to just one for each defendant, with the court arguing that this illegality should encompass the group of immigrants who were brought to Portugal without documentation and exploited.
A Peruvian woman was convicted, but her sentences were suspended, for the crime of aiding illegal immigration, and a Moldovan woman was convicted for possession of a prohibited weapon, each receiving a two-year prison sentence, suspended for the same period.
The only Portuguese defendant in the case, an accountant, was one of three people acquitted. The presiding judge stated that it had been proven that she handled the accounting for the other defendants and the commercial companies they owned, but no evidence was presented during the trial demonstrating any assistance to the companies in achieving an appearance of legality or the commission of the crimes for which she was indicted.
A Spaniard and a Romanian were the others acquitted, with the court ruling that insufficient evidence of the alleged crimes had been presented.
The Spaniard's company, as well as the Portuguese accounting firm, were also acquitted, while the remaining five commercial companies owned by defendants in this case were each sentenced to 1,000 days of fines at a rate of 200 euros per day.
The panel of judges sentenced several defendants to pay financial compensation to immigrant victims of human trafficking as a form of reparation, and some defendants were also sentenced to pay the State sums ranging from approximately €237,000 to €1,790,000.
Judge Ana Batista addressed the convicted defendants and told them it was important that they understand that the profit they obtained was at the expense of these workers entering Portugal without documentation, and placing them in substandard living conditions, in overcrowded houses lacking hygiene and adequate food.