Four Farmworkers Killed in Arson Attack in Amendolara, Italy

On 1 June 2026 a van carrying four agricultural laborers was set alight in Amendolara, Cosenza province, Calabria. The victims – Ullah Ismat Qiemi (19), Safi Iayjad (27), Amin Fazal Khogjani (28) and Waseem Khan (29) – were burned alive while en route to strawberry fields. A surviving Afghan worker escaped by breaking a window and provided testimony that the men were forced to work under threats from two men identified as "caporali" who wielded knives and pistols.

Police arrested the two alleged caporali shortly after the incident. The murders sparked renewed public debate on the widespread practice of caporalato – illegal recruitment and exploitation of migrant farmworkers – with trade unions and politicians calling for stricter controls and better protections for agricultural laborers across Italy.