Handcuffed by two police officers, this Moroccan man dies twenty days later: they stand trial in Portugal
Two Portuguese police officers are standing trial for the alleged kidnapping and homicide of a Moroccan man in Olhão. Aissa Ait Aissa was transported handcuffed in their patrol car before being found seriously injured. He died twenty days later in hospital.
The trial of Jorge Sousa and Pedro Barbosa, two officers from the Public Security Police (PSP), opened this Tuesday, September 8, before the Faro court. The two men are being prosecuted for two aggravated kidnappings and one qualified homicide, reports Diário de Notícias.
The events date back to March 9, 2024. The police officers intervened twice on the same day in incidents involving Aissa Ait Aissa and another Moroccan, Hassan Ait Rahou, in supermarkets in Olhão, in southern Portugal.
During the second intervention, the store manager ultimately decided not to file a complaint. Nevertheless, the two Moroccans were handcuffed, placed in the back of the police vehicle and driven out of the city.
According to the police officers, the two men had agreed to be taken home, and wearing handcuffs was a routine security measure when transporting people in a police car.
On Bladi.net : Agen Police Officers Face Trial for Alleged Assault on Moroccan Man
The public prosecutor’s office presents a completely different version. It maintains that the police officers went as far as Pechão, outside their patrol sector, before stopping on an isolated road.
Hassan Ait Rahou, who allegedly fell asleep during the journey, was reportedly released from his handcuffs and left by the roadside. Aissa Ait Aissa was then allegedly taken out of the vehicle while his hands were still tied behind his back.
A severe head injury
This is where the violence allegedly took place. The prosecution claims that the two police officers struck the Moroccan several times in the face and head, at least once with an object, while he was still handcuffed and therefore unable to defend himself.
Aissa Ait Aissa was hospitalized in critical condition at Faro Hospital. He remained in intensive care for around twenty days before dying on March 28, 2024.
The doctor heard during the first day of the trial dismissed the possibility that the injuries could have been caused by a traffic accident. He explained that the victim had suffered significant indentation on the left side of his skull resulting from an assault. According to him, a telescopic baton could be consistent with this type of injury.
The autopsy attributed the death to a cerebral contusion accompanied by subarachnoid hemorrhaging and fatal cerebral edema.
The two officers categorically deny having struck Aissa Ait Aissa. In court, they stated that the two Moroccans were calm during the journey and were conscious when they left them in Pechão.
Several aspects of their intervention are nevertheless being examined by the court. One of the police officers notably acknowledged that he had begun drafting the incident report in the PSP’s computer system but could not explain why he had never completed it. His colleague, for his part, denied deleting a WhatsApp message related to the case.
On Bladi.net : article 47862
For the public prosecutor’s office, the two police officers seriously abused their authority and knew that the alleged violence could cause the victim’s death.
The trial is due to continue at the Faro court, with new hearings scheduled for September 11 and 25.