Thessaloniki man given suspended sentence for illegally detaining Chinese woman
A Thessaloniki court has sentenced a 30-year-old Greek man to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for illegally detaining a young woman from China and forcing her to work unpaid in his shop.
As reported by local media, the case dates to 2010, when the accused approached the woman, offering her a good job with a very high salary, which persuaded her to leave her country and come to Thessaloniki.
The victim’s father knew the man, who runs a household linen shop.
“He restricted my movements, violated my right to free will and did not pay me for my work. He held me captive in the attic of the company,” the woman said in evidence.
The case came to light in 2013, when the woman filed a complaint.
The prosecutor called for the man to be acquitted as the woman had no evidence that she had worked at the man’s shop and because she made the complaint three years after being hired.
In sentencing the man, the court accepted the man’s previous good behavior in mitigation.
