Khaberni - Spanish police in the city of Malaga rescued a woman and her two children after they were held hostage inside a car for 13 days by her former partner, in a shocking incident that spanned over two thousand kilometers across Spain and Portugal, ending with a precise and risky raid.
The story began when the Spanish authorities received an urgent request from the French police to cooperate in the search for a woman and her two children who had disappeared since the third of October, and initial investigations showed that the family might be held inside a vehicle traveling through Spanish territory.
Suddenly, investigations revealed that the woman's ex-partner was the one who had abducted her, after smashing her mobile phone to prevent her from asking for help, and forcing her at gunpoint to drive the car towards Algeria in an attempt to escape French justice, which had issued two European arrest warrants against him.
Over 13 days, the victims endured harsh conditions, as the woman was subjected to physical violence and sexual assault in front of her children, while they all suffered from hunger and malnutrition, having eaten only cans of tuna, biscuits, and bread bought by the perpetrator from gas stations, with no permission for them to shower or change their clothes throughout the period of captivity.
In a rare moment of courage, the woman took advantage of her captor's distraction to send a distress message to a family member, saying, "He wants to kill me, call the police, they are the only ones who can save me, and delete everything so he won't discover."
Indeed, that message was the key that led to determining their location in the city of Malaga.
In coordination between the French and Spanish authorities, the Spanish police's Women and Family Unit (Ufam) executed a quick rescue operation characterized by complete secrecy, to avoid any violent reaction from the suspect.
After controlling him, the woman and her children were transported to a medical center, where examinations showed they suffered from malnutrition and dehydration, while the mother had bruises and bite marks, and the children had insect bites all over their bodies.
The police found inside the car the knife used by the suspect to threaten the victim, alongside her smashed mobile phone, and the suspect was arrested on multiple charges, including kidnapping, attempted murder, repeated sexual assault, illegal detention, domestic violence, privacy violation, and property damage.
The court ordered his immediate imprisonment pending trial.
