An Eritrean refugee who arrived in Portugal just over a month ago is now in preventive custody, accused of the savage rape of a 67-year-old homeless woman in Albufeira last Thursday (click here).
Ibrahim Salem, 38, was initially caught by 21-year-old witness Cody Searle, writes Correio da Manhã.
Searle told the paper how he “saw the women naked, and having convulsions, and blood everywhere” following the attack on Albufeira’s Avenida de Liberdade.
“I had to catch him after what he did to a defenceless woman”, said Searle, adding that his have-a-go heroics were no more than his “duty as a citizen”.
CM reports that Salem was caught with his trousers “still undone” and with the victim’s blood on his clothes.
The woman, described as “seriously injured”, suffered facial fractures and has been interned at Faro Hospital.
Bloodstains from the attack were still visible yesterday when CM reported on Salem’s arrest, saying he was one of 15 refugees who arrived in this country on October 28 from an Italian reception centre.
The refugees were brought into Portugal by the António Silva Leal Foundation, says the paper. The foundation runs various solidarity initiatives in Lisbon, Albufeira, Faro, Leiria and Sintra.
It is unclear what will happen to Salem after a court hearing. For the time being, he is being detained on the orders of an Albufeira judge, says CM – suggesting there is no doubt that he is guilty.
PHOTO: Albufeira’s Avenida de Liberdade where the attack took place as the homeless woman sheltered in the atrium of a building
