Syrian Opposition Leader: Uproar over Kidnapping of Pilgrims Increased Demand for Ransom
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The tumult following the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese pilgrims in Syria last month pushed the abductors to raise their ransom from $300,000 to $4 million, a Syrian opposition leader based in Paris said.
The leader, who refused to be identified, told As Safir daily published on Tuesday that the kidnappers first asked Hizbullah and the families of the 11 men for a $300,000 ransom.
The rebel Free Syrian Army has denied any involvement in the kidnapping that took place in the Syrian province of Aleppo as the pilgrims were returning home by bus after a pilgrimage to Shiite holy sites in Iran.
But the unidentified Syrian leader said the abductors belong to a group with close ties to the FSA and are based in the western neighborhood of Aazaz city that lies near the Turkish border.
He told As Safir that the “complicated case harms the essential cause of the opposition and shoves it into a labyrinth organized by parties that have nothing to do with political work.”
He alleged that he received an offer to mediate and hear the demands of the kidnappers to facilitate the release of the pilgrims after they asked for a $300.000 ransom.
But they began asking for $1 million after their case stirred a media debate and top Lebanese officials were involved to secure their release and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called for restraint in Beirut’s southern suburbs where residents threatened escalation if the men were not freed.
The kidnappers were later divided into three groups and asked for a $4 million ransom to share the huge amount of money among them, the opposition leader added.
The pilgrims appeared in a video aired on Arab satellite television Al-Jazeera on Saturday.
The men, who appeared to be in good health, said they are fine.
12 June 2012, 12:00
32
I am against handing over the 'pilgrims'. They should be treated the same that Hezbollah and Assad's shabi7a in Lebanon are treating Syrian refugees. How the hell do the Lebanese put up with such filth.
12 June 2012, 15:57
21
I am for chopping them up and sending their body parts to Tehran where they belong along with all the majoos filth in this world. Yes I am from Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and yes I am proud to be an enemy of the Persian project in the region.
12 June 2012, 17:59
01
damascus, hmm perhaps the same way that syrians put up with the baath for decades. Had the brave tunisians not started their revolution followed by the brave egyptians then all of syria still would have put up with baath just like more than half of syrians still do.
12 June 2012, 13:15
11
"worthless 11" have made there first block buster $ 4 million world realase.Long Live The Syrian Civil War.
12 June 2012, 13:25
10
Whatevr the case, it was a mistake to kidnap innosant people. It made them look bad and it hurt their cause if they really are the syrian opposition. I am not totally convienced that the Syrian regime has no hand in it. We've seen a twist after twist that is making me think that the whole thing is not about money or political issue but rather is to incite trouble in Lebanon and nothing else.
12 June 2012, 14:21
32
mowaten watch your words because you are not credible..."i pity those who cheer these worthless murderers, because you might still be cheering when they stab you in the back"
how can you support a regime that KILLS its people by shelling entire cities using helicopters??
how dare you criticize the FSA while assad is doing worse?
how dare you accept the shabbihas killing innocent people and backed by hezbolah?
shame on you...
12 June 2012, 18:01
10
FT: by letting this revolt rot as M8 did while denying anything was going on in syria and saying that all will be over in a week, how can you be surprised of how things are going?
peaceful demonstrations were repressed with bullets and bombs! can you deny it? No
do you expect people to let themselves be killed without reacting? NO but i guess M8 can as they pretend to be real heroes...
so, why are you so mad that people are reacting to this butchery by your allies? it s a normal course... plus hezb is helping the regime in those killings, and you expect people to do nothing?
waw how naive you are!!!!
M8 encouraged people to revolt in other arab countries but you call those in syria terrorists! double standards as usual... smell the change and prepare to change your speeches instead of justifying the assad regime....
12 June 2012, 19:29
00
"but those people are having their revolution hijacked from them. right now, you have qaeda, CIA, french secret service, kuwaitis, libyan mercenaries and god knows what, all in the syrian bathtub."
we can agree on this point. the failure of the arab league and UN to resolve this crisis naturally leads to this. but it does not exempt the syrian regime from being a terrorist one and killing its own people which is a crime against humanity!
12 June 2012, 16:52
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Bunch of terrorists; hopefully the Syrian forces will find the kidnappers and duly slit their throats. No mercy.
12 June 2012, 16:57
30
Funny coming from a majoosi filth rodent who depends on black turbaned 10th century inbreds to liberate his land which actually originally belongs to the Christians of the Levant until you invaded and multiplied like rats.
12 June 2012, 18:04
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damascus, make up your mind, are you muslim or christian? Perhaps next time you create an alter ego online, you stick to only one identity for that ego instead of switching depending on who you are replying to. Also nothing originally belongs to christians or muslims, otherwise all lands originally belong to pagans who were there before christians and muslims.
12 June 2012, 18:09
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I cannot believe the moderators allow such comments. Syrian rubbish coming to this forum calling for the death of fellow Lebanese? Are we really that low we'll allow this? Damascus, remember something, you and your people and those who are supporting you turned a blind eye for 30 years as Hafez the butcher raped Lebanon. Rather than say shame on you, shame on the so-called "Lebanese" calling for the death of innocent men in Syria. Shame on you.
12 June 2012, 19:31
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The price has gone up I guess they needed to factor in Gebran Bassil's commission.
12 June 2012, 19:56
10
Beiruti do you belong to a family from the 6 gates of Beirut or are you from the outskirts where u multiply like rodents. Don't worry, when the time is ripe, Aoun will be back in Paris, Nasrillat will be back in Tehran and the rest of the filth will be jobless. No more room for traitors in the Levant. Your time has all come, this is just the beginning.
12 June 2012, 21:05
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Damascus, first liberate syria then come threaten. You have the ENTIRE world backing you yet you still havent been able to topple bashar and his thugs. And for your information, i am from beirut, the city and i am muslim. Neither shia, allawi or durzi. I dont like bashar el assad but people like you arent better than him. The FSA is not better than the original syrian army (which the FSA comes from), both have criminals and thugs in them. Beirut belongs to all, its none of your business to decide if beirut is for shias or not. You are a syrian, arent you? So mind your own business. Beirut is not yours or perhaps you were with the syrian army when they were raping it? At that time the FSA was part of the original army after all.
13 June 2012, 04:02
00
"Whatevr the case, it was a mistake to kidnap innosant people. It made them look bad and it hurt their cause if they really are the syrian opposition. I am not totally convienced that the Syrian regime has no hand in it. We've seen a twist after twist that is making me think that the whole thing is not about money or political issue but rather is to incite trouble in Lebanon and nothing else. "
innocent? civilians? and they went INTO syria? In middle of a civil war?
I doubt they are innocent. I doubt they are civilian. I doubt Hezz would have made such a fuss over a bunch of cab drivers.
