The District Court in Malmö has sentenced a 35-year-old man to two years and ten months in prison for human trafficking and forcing three Polish nationals into slave-like labor.
“One of the men received virtually no pay. For a period of time he was so hungry that he ate apples from an orchard and dog food,” Judge Hakan Olaussen said in explaining the verdict.
The court also ordered the defendant to pay 900,000 Swedish kronor (approximately €83,000) in compensation. Police describe the ruling as precedent-setting.
Judge Olaussen emphasized that the Polish men had worked for six months in extremely harsh conditions without the agreed remuneration. “One of the men received virtually no pay. For a period of time he was so hungry that he ate apples from an orchard and dog food,” the judge reiterated in his justification.
Formally, the 35-year-old was convicted of human trafficking. In addition to the prison sentence, he must pay a total of 900,000 kronor in damages to the victims. Two of his associates received prison sentences for money laundering related to business activities—one a suspended sentence, the other one year and three months in prison.
According to Linda Erhorn of the Swedish border police, the ruling sets an important precedent and will serve as guidance on what conduct leads to a conviction for human trafficking in cases involving labor exploitation.
The three Polish men, who were experiencing homelessness, were lured to work in southern Sweden with promises of attractive wages. In reality, as they testified, they received only small sums for long hours of exhausting work, performed six days a week—or sometimes with no days off at all—and without protective equipment. They lived in an unheated attic under poor sanitary conditions.
Shortly after arriving, the workers were told by their 35-year-old employer—who had recruited them—that they were actually in debt to him. The alleged debt was said to cover travel expenses, accommodation, and tools. The Poles testified that they were under constant supervision. In fact, the man had hired them illegally and offered their services to numerous clients.
The ordeal lasted six months and came to light in February when one of the victims was found suffering from hypothermia by a police patrol. Without money or documents, he was walking along the E65 highway for several kilometers toward the nearest town, Ystad. Police subsequently searched a farm near Skurup, where they freed the two remaining Polish men.