Four convicted for 2012 attack on Egyptian worker
Four men from the island of Salamina, near Piraeus, were sentenced on Friday for beating Egyptian worker Walid Taleb and then leaving him chained to a lamppost.
The men were found guilty of abduction, robbery and grievous bodily harm. One of the four, Giorgos Sgourdas, was sentenced to 13 years and two months in prison. The other three were released pending their appeals against the sentences.
Taleb, 32, was attacked in November 2012 by the baker that employed him after a row about unpaid wages. The worker said that he was subjected to an 18-hour ordeal by his employer, Sgourdas, and the other three men.
Taleb’s case gained prominence during a period in which there was a rise in attacks on migrants. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees described the assault on Taleb as being of "striking brutality.”
After his ordeal, Taleb was informed that he would be deported from Greece as he did not have a residence permit. However, authorities then decided to intervene and grant him the right to stay in the country.
