ISF 'Thoroughly Examines' Video of 7 Estonians, Rifi Doubts Abductors are after Ransom
Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said the ISF was “thoroughly examining” the online video posted on YouTube in which seven Estonian tourists, who were kidnapped in the Bekaa valley on March 23, pleaded for help.
Rifi told As Safir daily in remarks published Thursday that the ISF was studying how the content of the video could help in the investigation. A security source believed that the video was posted by a professional person to prevent police from tracking its source.
The video, which was later removed, runs one minute and 47 seconds and shows each of seven men in sportswear, begging for help in English.
"We are turning to you, prime minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri, the King of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah, the King of Jordan King Abdullah, the President of France Mr. Sarkozy, please do anything to help us to get back home," said one of the seven.
Estonia's foreign ministry confirmed that "several institutions are dealing now with the question of finding out from where the video was posted onto the Internet.”
A previously unheard of group, Haraket al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded an unspecified ransom to free the seven Estonians.
But Rifi told As Safir that the Estonians did not specify any ransom in their video. Asked why they pleaded for help from different heads of state, the ISF chief said he believed that the demand for ransom was aimed at concealing the real demand of the kidnappers.
“Security agencies are taking all possibilities into consideration,” he said.
He reiterated that half of the abductors were in custody while the remaining half was still at large. On April 11, a police intelligence officer and a main suspect in the kidnapping were killed in a shootout in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar.
Unconfirmed reports had said that the Estonians may have been moved across the porous border to Syria. But Rifi said there was no conclusive evidence on whether the seven Estonians were still in Lebanon or not.
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