A young woman who suffered burns to 60 per cent of her body when her neighbour doused her with petrol and set her alight because she refused to marry him has been flown to Spain for life-saving treatment.
The horrific attack took place in the town of Makouda in northern Algeria’s Tizi Ouzou Province on 26th September when 28-year-old Rima Annan was about to catch the bus to work.
A relative of the victim told local media that the man had been harassing Rima for some time and had threatened her after she decided to travel to France.
The alleged perpetrator was not named in local media, but sources said he turned himself into the police a few hours after the attack.
Following the incident, Rima was taken to a local hospital, but medics said her third- and fourth-degree burns were so severe that she would need treatment abroad.
She was reportedly denied a French visa, but she and her family were able to obtain visas to travel to Spain to receive treatment at La Paz University Hospital in Madrid.
Rima – who worked as a French language teacher – and her family travelled to Madrid on an air medical service on 14th October after raising the necessary funds.
Fahem Meriem – whose relationship with the victim is unclear – launched the online fundraiser to help pay for Rima’s medical treatment.
At the time of writing, it had raised more than EUR 59,771 (GBP 51,800) of its EUR-100,000 (GBP-86,700) goal.
It can be found at www.leetchi.com/c/ryma-fhm25.
