PR apologizes to immigrant for being attacked without justification

"Nothing justifies the attack he suffered and I apologized to him," the president told reporters in Olhão after a brief meeting with two immigrants attacked in recent days, one of whom was assaulted on January 25.

The Head of State insisted that “nothing justifies this type of inhuman, undemocratic and criminal treatment, which cannot be accepted in Portuguese society”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa welcomed that the person in question "already has a tax identification number" and "can now work in a precarious way", but warned that "he still has health problems" and that he must recover.

"Right now, the Chamber [of Olhão] he will take care of the framing in terms of social action and, on the other hand, he is available to work both in restoration and in civil construction," said the head of state.

This morning, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa gave a lecture to the students of the Escola Secundária Dr. Francisco Fernandes Lopes, in Olhão, before the meeting with the attacked immigrant.

The President of the Republic defended that the Portuguese have "the obligation to better understand" what immigrants feel when they arrive in the country, since Portugal is traditionally a country of emigrants.

“We have an obligation to understand better, because other European countries do not have a tradition of emigration. How come we don't understand what other people are feeling here? asked Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in a class with high school students, days after the attacks on the Nepalese immigrant by a group of young people from that city were made public.

Accompanying Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the mayor of Olhão, António Miguel Pina, confirmed that the city council "will accompany" this immigrant, especially in the search for a job, after having recovered physically from the aggression of which he has been a victim.

On the other hand, António Miguel Pina, was convinced that it was "an isolated case of a group of young people", without "any perception of insecurity in the municipality" nor concern about the existence "of a generalized attitude of revulsion towards immigrants”.

The mayor would also like to know what is happening from a youth mental health perspective.

“As far as we know, they are not very poor from an economic point of view, they come from more or less structured families, which leads us to believe that it is a mixture of pleasure and exaltation of their anger," said António Miguel. Pina, adding that "I need to know what's going on from a mental health perspective" of young offenders and if there are "more hidden issues".

A group of youths attacked the Nepalese immigrant on January 25, the case having become known after a video was shared on social networks, where the immigrant appears lying on the ground, in a defensive position, trying to protect himself from the kicks, punches and beatings by the attackers, whose faces are not clearly visible because they are wearing balaclavas.

The attacks on the immigrant are being investigated by the PSP and Interior Administration Minister José Luís Carneiro said on Saturday that "a core of people who were part of this group that attacked from barbarism" the citizen was identified, adding that the PSP must take steps in collaboration with the public prosecutor's office to gather information that will allow the perpetrators of the attack to be held accountable.

The Minister of the Interior also added that the PSP has detected "other circumstances equivalent to those which occurred with this young man", noting that the investigations are at an "advanced stage".

In addition to the repeated attacks, the group also stole the backpack of the victim, who did not file a complaint, as she begged them to stop attacking her and at least return the documents she had. kept in his backpack.

The investigation is also trying to determine how many elements made up the group and the involvement of each of them in the crimes committed.

FPB (MAD) // JPS

End of Lusa