Appeal against acquittal of accused
Migrant rights' activists yesterday demanded that the government appeal against a Greek court's decision to acquit its nationals who admitted shooting 28 Bangladeshis at a strawberry farm last year.
“Bangladeshi migrants' rights bodies stand together and raise voice collectively against the injustice and demand a commitment to justice against the verdict,” said Sheepa Hafiza, director of gender justice and diversity, and migration programmes of Brac.
She made the demand at a press conference in the capital's Jatiya Press Club, organised by the National Alliance for Migrants' Rights, Bangladesh (NAMR,B).
The alliance will submit memorandums to the ministries of foreign affairs and expatriates' welfare, Bangladesh mission in Greece, National Human Rights Commission, international rights organisations, and the special envoy to the United Nations for migration to press the Greek government to review the verdict, she said.
The Bangladeshis were shot in April last year when they demanded to be remunerated for six months of unpaid work at the farm in Manolada in the southern Peloponnese.
At least four Bangladeshis were badly injured in that attack.
Four people were detained initially, and two of them, accused of aggravated assault and illegal firearms possession, were handed prison sentences of 14 years and eight years respectively. The two were freed pending appeal. Besides, the Greek judges also allowed two others, including the farm's owner, to walk free.
The victims protested the verdict outside the court house.
An official of the foreign ministry yesterday told The Daily Stat that the government might appeal against the verdict after receiving details from the Bangladesh embassy in Greece.
The alliance wants that the government ensure proper legal protection for Bangladeshis in Greece and undertake independent monitoring of their rights' violation, compliance of labour standards, working and living conditions, and workplace accidents.
Representatives from Ain o Salish Kendra, Manusher Jonno Foundation, CARE Bangladesh, Ovibashi Karmi Kallyan Foundation, Bangladesh Ovibashi Mahila Sramik Association, and Ahsania Mission, among others, were present at the press conference.
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