12-year-old child is rescued in Lisbon after family promises marriage due to debt

A 12-year-old girl was saved by the Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP) at Humberto Delgado Airport, in Lisbon, after revealing that she was being taken to France for a forced marriage. The arranged union aimed to pay off a family debt, in a suspected human trafficking scheme. The police action took place on July 25, resulting in the preventive arrest of the woman who accompanied the child. Portuguese authorities detailed the process that led to distrust over the situation.

The child, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was traveling on a flight that departed from Dakar, Senegal, alongside a 45-year-old French citizen, before arriving in the Portuguese capital, according to information from the PSP.

At immigration control in Terminal 1 of the airport, agents identified several inconsistencies in the documentation presented and in the version provided by the companion. Initially, the woman claimed to be the girl’s mother, but doubts led the police to begin a more in-depth investigation.

After analysis, authorities confirmed that the story told by the woman was false. Furthermore, it was found that the minor was using a travel document that belonged to another person.

During his statement to authorities, the child stated that he had no family ties with the woman. She revealed that she was given by her own parents to travel to France, where a man was waiting for her for a wedding, in accordance with a promise made to pay a family debt. This type of exploitation exposes the extreme vulnerability of children in contexts of poverty and conflict.

The girl expressed to authorities her deep fear of returning to her country of origin or being returned to her parents, fearing that she would once again be used as a bargaining chip to pay off debts.

The child must remain in Portugal, where they will receive support and monitoring from teams specialized in assisting victims of human trafficking, ensuring their protection and recovery.

The woman was formally indicted, brought before the Portuguese courts and had her preventive detention ordered. The case remains under investigation to clarify all details of the trafficking network.