Two people suspected of demanding ransom for an Eritrean man held captive in the Sinai peninsula were charged with aggravated attempted blackmail Tuesday in a Swedish court. It was the first instance of alleged associates of kidnapper gangs in the Sinai peninsula being indicted in Europe.
The men, 18 and 21 years old, are suspected of having collaborated with gangs of traffickers in the Sinai peninsula who kidnapped and tortured asylum seekers. They allegedly demanded $33,000 from the Swedish-Eritrean human rights activist Meron Estefanos to have a man held captive released alive. After Ms. Estefanos informed the police, investigators wiretapped the suspects’ phones and they were arrested earlier this year.
In recent years, a large number of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers have been kidnapped and held captive in the Sinai peninsula, where many have been subjected to brutal torture by Bedouin gangs who demand ransom money from families.
While the exact numbers are uncertain, the confirmed victims are several hundreds, according to Amnesty International researcher Claire Beston, who says kidnappers’ networks are far-reaching.
“We have information from a number of countries about people being involved in the network and of ransoms being paid in Sweden, Switzerland, in Italy, in the U.S.A., and in Saudi Arabia,” she said. However, most of the cases are never reported to authorities, as families fear for the consequences for their loved ones. The case in the Solna district court marks the first instance where charges have been brought in a European country against anyone involved in the kidnappings.
“What is happening in Sweden hopefully will be replicated in other countries … and hopefully it will lead to other collaborators being identified and prosecuted,” Ms. Beston said.
Some kidnapping victims whose relatives are unable to pay ransom have been killed by their captors, while others have died as a consequence of the horrendous conditions under which they are held.
“We have received information of numerous deaths as a result of the brutality and the conditions of the captivity in the Sinai,” Ms. Beston said. Victims have reported to Amnesty about regular beatings, electric shocks, rape and other forms of extreme violence. One survivor, who was held in Sinai for eight months, told the organization that an Ethiopian man was tortured, doused with petrol and burnt to death. The body was then left in the room with the other captives who were forced in turns to hold it.
The Sinai peninsula has been plagued by lawlessness and the presence of extremist groups and criminal gangs, and despite efforts by the Egyptian government to gain control over the peninsula, its forces have not been able to stop trafficking and kidnappings.
“We have made recommendations to a number of countries, but at the forefront are the Egyptian authorities, who have the responsibility to protect anyone within their territory,” Ms. Beston said.