Mozambique: Three Kidnap Victims Released After Ransom Payment

By Jorge Joaquim Safiyah Feroz, a 19-year-old student who was kidnapped in the city of Beira on 19 May, returned to her family, the Beira Anti-Kidnapping Movement revealed on Facebook, without going into details. However, a source from the organisation said  that a ransom was paid for her release. She was abducted close to the Mozambican Catholic University (UCM), in Ponta Gea neighborhood, in the company of a friend who witnessed the whole incident. The Movement also announced the release of Turkish businessman Huseyin Sozen, kidnapped on 7 February close to the Government Information Office (Gabinfo) in Maputo, as well as Bottle Store owner Bharat Kumar, kidnapped in downtown Maputo. Most of the victims are released on ransom, but they avoid going into details to avoid reprisals. Moreover, as the Attorney General Beatriz Buchili admitted, some victims continue to pay the kidnappers protection money in order not to be kidnapped again. The General Commander of the Mozambican police, Bernadino Rafal, has admitted that he is “greatly concerned” at the wave of kidnappings of wealthy business people who are ransomed for large sums of money.