Handcuffed by two police officers, this Moroccan man dies twenty days later: they stand trial in Portugal

The trial of Jorge Sousa and Pedro Barbosa, two officers with the Public Security Police (PSP), opened this Tuesday, September 8, before the Faro court. The two men are being prosecuted for two aggravated abductions 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 over 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 outside the city.

According to the police officers, the two men had agreed to be driven home, and the use of handcuffs was a customary 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 officers drove as far as Pechão, outside their patrol area, 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 who testified on the first day of the trial ruled out the possibility that the injuries could have been caused by a traffic accident. He explained that the victim had a significant depression 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 brain contusion accompanied by a subarachnoid hemorrhage and fatal cerebral edema.

In France, police officers had already been prosecuted for violence committed against a handcuffed Moroccan.

The two officers categorically deny having struck Aissa Ait Aissa. In court, they asserted 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 officers notably acknowledged that he had begun drafting the incident report in the PSP computer system but could not explain why he had never completed it. His colleague, for his part, denied deleting a WhatsApp message relating 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 further hearings scheduled for September 11 and 25.