Man arrested for allegedly raping Ethiopian woman

BEIRUT: Police detained two employees at an employment agency for domestic workers over the rape of an Ethiopian woman, the Internal Security Forces said in a statement Sunday.

On March 17, a 33-year-old Ethiopian woman, identified as B.E., on a domestic worker contract in Lebanon, filed a complaint at the Tripoli police station, claiming she was raped by an employee at the agency.

B.E. and her employer had gone to the agency’s office in the northern town of Koura in a bid to resolve problems between them, the ISF said. The agency’s secretary, identified as L.S., 24, phoned A.Z., 40, an employee at the office, to settle the dispute.

Upon his arrival, the man reportedly sought to “discipline” B.E. by forcing her to take off her clothes, beating her with his belt and raping her. The man was arrested along with the secretary, after a doctor corroborated the Ethiopian woman’s allegations.