By Noora Ibrahim.
Benghazi, 6 January 2014:
A 77-year-old man and five-year-old child have been kidnapped in two separate abductions in Benghazi over . . .[restrict]the last two days.
Gaith Omran Al-Garyani was abducted on Saturday, a friend of his family has told the Libya Herald.
Three gunmen approached Garyani and his wife and son as they returned by car to their home in the upmarket district of Al-Fuwaihat. They grabbed him and drove off in a white Toyota. According to the family, two of the men were masked.
The family say they believe the kidnapping to be financially motivated as Garyani has never worked with any military organisation or been associated with a political group. He owns a store selling safes in Dubai Street. They are urging anyone with information relating to his whereabouts to come forward.
In a separate incident, Radwam Mohammed Salem Al-Mazoghi, the six-year-old son of Mohammed Al-Mazoghi, the editor of the highly regarded newspaper Kalima, was abducted yesterday afternoon while playing in front of his home in the Sabri area. The boy was taken by four masked men driving a white BMW.
He had been sent to play with friends in the quiet street outside the family apartment.
There has been steep rise in kidnappings in Libya in recent months, notably in and around Tripoli, and most of them for ransom. The vast majority of families involved try to keep not only the media out of the affair but also the police. large ransoms are being demanded. This newspaper knows of one recent kidnapping where LD 3 million was demanded. [/restrict]
