Two Lisbon policemen charged with torturing vagrants and migrants

Two Lisbon police officers have been charged with torturing vagrants ​and migrants and then sharing images of their acts in an online chat with other officers, triggering a broader inquiry, Portuguese officials said on Friday.



The two officers in their 20s, who were arrested last July and remain in custody, are accused of torture, acts of cruelty and abuse of power, according to the indictment signed by Lisbon Prosecutor Felismina Franco last week and seen by Reuters.



One of them also faces charges of rape, robbery and forgery.



The document described one incident in which the policemen beat up a Moroccan immigrant inside a police station for several hours, making him kiss their boots as one shouted in English: "Welcome to Portugal!"



"The victims were systematically picked from among particularly vulnerable people, namely homeless, physically weak, economically challenged," the prosecutor wrote.