French court to rule on Burundi ex-minister's appeal against slavery conviction

The appeal of former Burundian justice minister Gabriel Mpozagara and his wife against a slavery conviction is to be heard on Wednesday. The two were handed a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay 70,000 euros in compensation for exploiting a compatriot for 10 years at their home in a Paris suburb.

The court at Versailles. www.ca-versailles.justice.fr

On 21 October 2019, the Nanterre Criminal Court found Mpozagara and his wife guilty of “submission to forced labour” and “working conditions and accommodation contrary to dignity” of a Burundian farmer at their home in Ville-d’Avray, south-west of Paris.

The couple's appeal is to he heard at the Versailles Court of Appeal on 17 February.

Domestic tasks

During the hearing, the plaintiff, identified as Method S., testified to having been “enslaved” over a ten-year period, from 2008 to 2018, in the couple’s home. 

[France] Gabriel #Mpozagara,ancien ministre de la Justice puis Economie au #Burundi
et son épouse Candide reconnus coupables de "soumission à un travail forcé » et à des « conditions de travail et d'hébergement contraires à la dignité" envers Méthode Sindayigaya (à droite). pic.twitter.com/yadlVKpyG1

— Le Droit de Savoir (@DROITDESAVOIR_) October 22, 2019

“I would get up at 6am and go to bed at 1am," he said, adding that he had to take care of "all the domestic tasks, and also look after one of the couple’s sons with disabilities".

Sleeping near a boiler in the basement, he washed himself “at the tap with a bucket”.

Discovered by labour inspectors in a state described as “emaciated and obviously frightened", Method S. explained that his employers had confiscated his passport.

Mpozagara denied his version of the story. “Method lived in the same conditions as us,” the former minister claimed, also denying having taken his compatriot's passport.

European Court of Human Rights

The Mpozagaras had already appeared in 2007 before the Nanterre court, in a case which concerned two nieces (10 and 16 years old) from Burundi. 

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled against France in an earlier case centered on Gabriel Mpozagara and his wife. © AFP/Johanna Leguerre

The two victims, according to court documents, had left Burundi after the civil war, in which their parents were killed, and come to France, where they were placed under the guardianship of their uncle. 

Mpozagara and his wife were convicted, then released on appeal. But the two girls pleaded their case before the European Court of Human Rights, which condemned France in October 2012 for not having put in place a “legislative and administrative framework making it possible to fight effectively against bondage and forced labour."

Human trafficking

The charge of “human trafficking” is an offense punishable by seven years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros.

“My clients vigorously contest the charges,” the couple’s lawyer,  Tarek Koraitem, told the AFP news agency.

The lawyer representing Method S., Martin Pradel, said that he hoped an “important and serious sentence” would be pronounced, so that the Burundian farmer can “rebuild himself”. 

He is currently living “without resources” with his family, who have been granted asylum because of "very serious threats” since the start of the trial, according to the lawyer. 

Method S. has also initiated proceedings to claim the wages he is owed, since he was paid a total of 5,000 euros in ten years, according to his counsel.

(with agencies)