MORE details have emerged today (March 16) about the murder of leading human rights campaigner Abdel Salam Hassan Abdel Salam.

Police say they were called to Mr Abdel Salam’s small bottom-floor flat in Boone Street, Lee, at around 7.10am on Saturday (March 13) after a neighbour noticed his door was ajar.

Just inside the front door lay the body of the 56-year-old.

Paramedics pronounced the Sudanese human rights lawyer dead at the scene. He died from huge blood loss from a stab wound in his leg.

Met officers from the homicide and serious crime command are investigating and say they are retaining an “open mind” as to the motive for the stabbing.

Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain said: “This was a brutal attack on a defenceless man, made more tragic as Abdel had devoted much of his life combating abuse of human rights upon others.

"I am keen to trace Abdel's movements and appeal for anyone with information to come forward to assist my team with this investigation.

“Abdel was last seen alive at home on the afternoon of Friday, March 12, and we are trying to establish his movements between this time and the following morning when his body was discovered."

He added: "Abdel was a large man, who used two sticks to walk as he had some difficulty.

"He would often travel by minicab or bus to take him to the charity where he volunteered in central London, and many people would have seen him on his route.”

Lawyer and intellectual

Mr Abdel Salam weighed 22st and was 5ft 9in tall with short afro hair.

He volunteered at human rights organisation Redress and was a lawyer and intellectual who had promoted human rights in Sudan for 30 years.

It is understood he also worked with Human Rights Watch, Sudan Human Rights Organisation and Justice Africa.

A statement from Redress read: “We will greatly miss his depth of knowledge and commitment and the conviviality with which he enriched our daily lives.”

Juliet Flint knew Mr Abdel Salam when he helped at Justice Africa, an organisation which campaigns for human rights and social justice across Africa.

She said: “He was a friend and a very warm, very witty man who was generous as he was, nearly always, out-of-pocket.

"He was a big man in every sense of the word - physically, intellectually and morally.

“He was a man who loved peace and loved people. It is terribly upsetting that he died so violently, and so alone.”

No-one has been arrested in connection with the murder.

Anyone with information should call the Met Police on 020 8721 4805 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.