Pakistani farm labourer killed in Foggia province: labour trafficking suspected after autopsy
Sadam Houssain, 32, found dead in the boot of his car 18 days after his disappearance. Autopsy reveals beatings and stab wounds; investigation points to agricultural labour sector.
Death in car boot: shadow of labour trafficking over Sadam Houssain case
Sadam Houssain, a 32-year-old Pakistani farm labourer, was beaten to death and apparently stabbed, then placed in the boot of his car and left there from 4 August until his body was discovered on 22 August near the Borgo Mezzanone ghetto in Foggia province. This is reported by ANSA Cronaca on the basis of initial autopsy results, conducted by Professor Luigi Cipolloni.
The body was in an advanced state of decomposition. Sadam went missing on 4 August; eighteen days later, his car was found in the vicinity of the ghetto, one of Europe's largest, where approximately five thousand migrants live in shelters made of plastic, bricks and corrugated metal, without adequate sanitary facilities.
Intermediation activity as possible motive
With that same vehicle, the young man transported up to four migrants daily from the Borgo Mezzanone ghetto to the fields of Tavoliere, where they were employed in tomato harvesting. A fellow countryman confirmed this habit to the carabinieri. In a note handed to investigators, Sadam is described as "the labour broker who took fellow countrymen and Bengali migrants to the countryside" and who "paid because he made contracts with farm owners".
It is not ruled out that this intermediation activity — attributable to the labour trafficking phenomenon — may have created conflicts within the working environment and could represent the motive for the crime.
Investigation by Foggia Prosecutor's Office
The Foggia Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation for wilful homicide against unknown persons. According to investigators, the manner of killing does not point to local mafia clans, but directs the inquiry towards a settling of scores within the exploitation of ghetto workers. The investigation, shrouded in strict confidentiality, is focusing on the victim's working environment.
His brother Nazim and friend Arshad described the man as having a quiet life, having been in Italy for four years. "Sadam was a good person. We want the truth," both stated. Other friends agree: "He never had an argument with anyone".
Conditions in Borgo Mezzanone ghetto
Mohammad Lowe, who lived in the ghetto for three years before joining the Flai trade union, describes a reality without running water, without toilets, without heating: "In winter they cut off the electricity. There is no life there". Michele Cucchiariello, secretary of Flai Cgil in Foggia, again denounces institutional inertia: "By not using PNRR funds to eliminate the ghettos, today we find ourselves still talking about these tragedies".
Source: ANSA Cronaca