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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 17 June 2016:
The Rada (Special Deterrence Force) have revealed today that they had yesterday freed a kidnapped victim, Aseel Al-Girwi, who had been missing for 45 days.
They have also arrested the members of the gang that had kidnapped him. The kidnappers had asked for a ransom of 2 million Euros.
The incident reflects the increasing trend of kidnappings in Libya as a result of the non-existence of state security institutions such as police and army, on the one hand, and the wide proliferation of arms and out of control militias post the 2011 revolution, on the other.
Many kidnappings are not reported, as the victim’s family who are able to afford it, quietly pay-off the ransom demand. Many kidnap victims have yet to be found. Others are later found murdered and dumped.
Whilst in Libya’s current very polarized political climate, some kidnappings are purely politically-based, many are for pure financial gain conducted by armed gangs / militias.
Kidnapping gangs have specialized with smaller gangs selling their victim to other gangs for a smaller fee, a few thousand dinars, leaving it for the bigger gangs to demand the larger ransom and conduct the final handover process.
The trend of kidnapping has had another side effect. Notwithstanding the economic crises, many Libyans are now discouraged from depositing large amounts of money into their bank accounts for fear of alerting kidnappers, in collusion with bank employees.
A number of wealthy Libyans have as a result chosen to leave Libya with their families and reside abroad during this insecure period in Libya.
