Overview
- CCTV footage from a gas station near Amendolara shows two men pouring petrol into a Fiat Ulysse, sealing the doors and setting the vehicle on fire so that four of the five occupants were burned to death while one escaped.
- Investigators identified two men from the footage and placed them in pretrial detention as suspects in the killings.
- The sole survivor, Taj Alamyar, who escaped through the rear window with severe burns, has testified that the victims were seasonal strawberry pickers housed in cramped conditions and paid low wages with daily transport fees deducted from their pay.
- Authorities say the attack looks like an intimidation killing meant to set an example for other workers and have opened a review of a comparable fatality from last year to see if it was mischaracterized.
- The case has focused national attention on the widespread exploitation of migrant farmworkers in southern Italy, the role of so‑called capos and possible links to the 'Ndrangheta, and has prompted calls from church and political leaders for stronger enforcement of anti‑exploitation laws.