Call for protection following fatal shooting of Feijó grocer
Hundreds of immigrants formed a human chain in front of the Ministry of Internal Administration in Lisbon yesterday calling for security and justice in the (little publicised) case of a grocer shot dead in what may have been a robbery last week.
The case took place in Feijó, in the municipality of Almada, and claimed the life of Mahabubul Alam, originally from Bangladesh.
Very few media outlets reported on the incident. Tabloid Correio da Manhã described it as an ‘attempted break in’ as Mr Alam was in the process of closing his shop – and there have been no follow-up stories on the manhunt for the two alleged assailants, both described as teenagers, albeit one of the leaders of yesterday’s initiative did refer to a police investigation “determining who is responsible”.
The peaceful demonstration was organized by Casa do Bangladesh – one of the many associations supporting immigrants in this country.
In the words of Lusa, it was “made up almost exclusively of men, who displayed banners and posters demanding justice”.
Brazilian Nina Martins, representing the Just Life Movement, was one of the four women present.
“We support this cause”, she told the state news agency. “I think we have to fight, investigate and seek justice.”
Immigrants want Portugal to be “safe and fair”, said a number of people taking part.
“We have several Bangladeshi traders here in Portugal. It’s not a question of racism. It’s a question of criminality. The police are investigating and determining who is responsible,” Roni Hossan, from Casa do Bangladesh, told Lusa.
Rana Taslin, another community leader, submitted a written request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, asking for justice to be guaranteed, as well as greater security for immigrants from Bangladesh and other Asian countries.
“Now they have killed one person, but for two years there have been many problems, with immigrants being tortured in several places, and there have been several complaints. This is negligence on the part of the authorities,” Taslin stressed, estimating that there are around 50,000 Bangladeshi people currently living in Portugal, 20,000 of whom live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
According to PSP police, the fatal shooting of Mahabubul Alam took place on the night of June 13. The two young suspects fled and the case is in the hands of PJ judicial police.
Source material: LUSA
