Woman from Ragusa rescued in Palermo: segregated and beaten by husband in Cairo
A woman from Ragusa has been freed at Palermo airport after years of violence in Egypt. Her Egyptian husband has been reported for maltreatment and resisting a public official.
Rescued at Falcone Borsellino airport after years of abuse in Cairo
A woman from Ragusa was freed during the night between 29 and 30 August at Palermo airport, upon her arrival from Egypt with her husband. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports: officers from Polaria intervened after being alerted by an aunt of the victim, who is resident in France, to whom the woman had recounted the violence she had suffered.
To make herself recognised by the officers, the woman used the conventional signal requesting assistance: four fingers of one hand closed. The man was identified and reported for domestic maltreatment and, following his reaction towards the officers, also for resisting a public official. The victim was transferred to a protected house. The operation was coordinated by the Palermo Prosecutor's Office.
The couple had lived for a period between Palermo and Ragusa, before moving to Egypt. Medical examinations carried out by the airport doctor and then at Palermo's Policlinico revealed signs of violence. The woman was interviewed by investigators — coordinated by prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia and the deputy head of the vulnerable persons department, Laura Vaccaro — in a protected environment, in the presence of a psychologist.
The victim reported that she had married more than ten years ago and went to live in Cairo, where her ordeal began. She was beaten for every mistake, forbidden from using the telephone and leaving without her husband; she could not work or dispose of money, and was forced into sexual relations against her will. This situation had reportedly been ongoing since at least 2017.
What drove her to flee was her husband's decision to give her in marriage to another man in exchange for money. The woman obtained a telephone and, using public or free wi-fi networks due to lack of financial resources, contacted her aunt in France. The latter alerted the police, who arranged the intervention at Falcone Borsellino airport under the coordination of the Palermo Prosecutor's Office.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca