were provided by the gato.129 The deponents added that the workers were threatened with death if they reported the gato or the owner of the hacienda, or if they tried to escape, and that the usual practice was to hide the workers when the Ministry of Labor conducted inspections.130 144. Based on this report, the Ministry of Labor’s Mobile Group made further inspection visits to Hacienda Brasil Verde on April 23, 28 and 29, 1997.131 The report on the Ministry of Labor’s inspection visit concluded that: (i) the workers were housed in sheds covered with plastic and straw in which there was a “total lack of hygiene”; (ii) several workers had skin diseases and were not receiving medical care, and the water they drank was not fit for human consumption; (iii) all the workers had endured threats, including with firearms, and (iv) the workers stated that they were unable to leave the hacienda. 132 In addition, the practice of hiding the workers when inspections were conducted was verified.133 At the time of the inspection, 81 workers were found, and “approximately 45” work permits (CTPs) were issued to them.134 The criminal proceedings against Raimundo Alves de Rocha, Antônio Alves Vieira and João Luiz Quagliato Neto 145. As a result of the Ministry of Labor’s report (supra para. 144), on June 30, 1997, the Federal Public Prosecution Service filed a complaint against: (a) Raimundo Alves de Rocha, gato or employer of rural workers, for the offenses established in articles 149 (slave labor), 197.1 (violation of freedom of work) and 207 (worker trafficking) of the Penal Code; (b) Antônio Alves Vieira, manager of Hacienda Brasil Verde, for the offenses established in articles 149 and 197.1 of the Penal Code, and (c) João Luiz Quagliato Neto, owner of Hacienda Brasil Verde, for the offense established in article 203 (violation of labor rights) of the Penal Code.135 In the complaint, the Public Prosecution Service considered that: Hacienda Brasil Verde is accustomed to hiring temporary rural workers, “laborers,” to clear the juquira [or dense vegetation], such as the 32 (thirty-two) workers who were recruited […] in the municipality of Xinguara by […] an employer, in this case, the accused, Raimundo Alves da Rocha, between March 24 and April 14 this year […] to work in another place for a wage. Part of this wage is provided before arriving at the place of work […]. On arrival at the hacienda, the workers are lodged in huts covered by plastic and straw, without lateral protection. […] The water they drink […] is not fit for human consumption, because it comes from the bathroom and the drinking trough for the hacienda’s animals. […] Food, such as meat, is exposed to insects outdoors; it is distributed by [one of the] accused […] by the barracão or ”truck system” and by the […] hacienda’s middleman through the manager […] Antônio Alves Vieira. Several workers […] stated that they were prohibited from leaving the hacienda under threat of death while they had debts […] due to purchasing food at exorbitant prices […] and because they Statement by José da Costa Oliveira and José Ferreira dos Santos of March 10, 1997 (evidence file, folios 845 and 846). 129 130 Statement by José da Costa Oliveira and José Ferreira dos Santos of March 10, 1997 (evidence file, folio 846). Report of the visit to Hacienda Brasil Verde, Labor Mobile Group, April 23, 28 and 29, 1997 (evidence file, folios 4629 to 4638). 131 Report of the visits to Hacienda Brasil Verde, Labor Mobile Group, April 23, 28 and 29, 1997 (evidence file, folios 4629 and 4630). 132 Report of the visits to Hacienda Brasil Verde, Labor Mobile Group, April 23, 28 and 29, 1997 (evidence file, folio 4637). 133 Report of the visits to Hacienda Brasil Verde, Labor Mobile Group, April 23, 28 and 29, 1997 (evidence file, folio 4637). 134 Complaint of the Federal Public Prosecution Service of June 30, 1997 (evidence file, folios 4623 and 4625 to 4628). 135 35