An illegal Algerian migrant has been remanded in custody after allegedly punching a woman and slashing her across the face at Milan’s Duomo metro station because he believed she was looking at him a certain way.
According to MilanoToday, the 23-year-old woman of Moroccan origin was waiting for a train on the station’s yellow line platform with friends when the 27-year-old suspect confronted her at around 3.30 pm.
“What are you looking at? I’m a man and a Muslim,” he allegedly said before insulting her and punching her in the face.
When the woman tried to defend herself, the attacker allegedly produced a small knife and slashed her across the lip and cheek. Her screams were heard by several witnesses.
The blade struck close to her eye, and she was taken to hospital with injuries initially assessed as requiring ten days of treatment.
According to Il Giorno, some passengers told investigators in the immediate aftermath that the suspect had made a statement along the lines of “I am a man, and I am Muslim.” Police are continuing to examine surveillance footage and identify witnesses who left the station following the attack.
The suspect, identified as Mohammed Saidi, fled from the station but was chased by local police officers and arrested nearby, close to Via Torino and Via Falcone.
He was reportedly found hiding behind a sofa in the entrance area of a gym.
Saidi denied attacking the woman during questioning at Milan’s San Vittore prison and claimed that he was the victim.
He said the blood found at the scene was his rather than hers and claimed the wound to the woman’s face had been caused by the buckle of her own handbag during a struggle.
At an initial court hearing, the investigating judge rejected his account as implausible and upheld his detention for permanent facial disfigurement and resisting arrest.
The judge said Saidi had displayed “a total lack of self-control and unscrupulous action against a defenseless woman.”
Saidi was ordered to remain in prison because of the risk that he could commit further offences or flee.
Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that prosecutors had requested his continued detention on the grounds that he was dangerous and could strike again.
Saidi had been arrested less than 12 hours before the metro attack over an alleged attempted robbery and damage to parked cars.
After a fast-track hearing, he was released with an order banning him from residing in Milan.
He is homeless, has no previous criminal convictions and is illegally present in Italy. He reportedly told investigators that he had arrived from France around a month earlier and wanted to be repatriated to Algeria. He had originally applied for political asylum in Germany back in 2022.
