On October 15, the Libourne court judged two Moroccans, a father and his son, prosecuted for human trafficking committed against six fellow seasonal wine workers whom they also housed in unworthy conditions, from October 15is January 2022 to December 18, 2023 in Libourne. The father also appeared for other facts: use of forged documents, execution of concealed work or even for misuse of company assets by a manager for personal purposes.
Recognized victims
The hearing lasted more than six hours before the judgment was reserved. This Tuesday, November 5, the court rendered its decision: the father was acquitted for the concealed work only for the period 2022, for which the facts are not sufficiently characterized. On the other hand, he is sentenced for the rest to one year in prison at home under an electronic bracelet with provisional execution, the obligation to work, to compensate the civil parties, the ban on coming into contact with them, the permanent ban on running a business or even ban from French territory for ten years.
His son was also found guilty. He was sentenced to six months in prison, subject to a bracelet, as well as being banned from entering the country and running a business for five years.
This conviction allows the victims to be recognized as such and to benefit from a ten-year residence permit. Enough to give them time to rebuild themselves and regain their face after having been marked by the shame of having been fooled. All, in fact, appealed to family solidarity and dipped into their savings to raise the 12,000 euros requested by the defendants against the promise of a job in France, a monthly salary of 1,600 euros, papers in good standing and even housing. It also serves, as the Deputy Prosecutor pointed out, as a warning for those who continue to supply these recruitment channels mainly linked to Morocco.
France
