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Analyst Ties Hostage Affair to Libyan War
21.04.2011 - ERR

The kidnapping of seven Estonian tourists in Lebanon is tied to the war in Libya, and talk of Syria is just a distraction, political scientist Toomas Alatalu speculated. Libya's civil war began on March 19. The Estonian tourists were kidnapped four days later. "All signs indicate that this incident needs to be taken in the context of war [in Libya] ... " ... mehr

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Birgitt

Report: Video of Estonians is Not New
22.04.2011 - naharnet

The video of the seven Estonian tourists that was uploaded on YouTube was most probably shot in the first days of the March 23 kidnapping in the eastern Bekaa valley, a security source told As Safir daily. The source said in remarks published Friday that the video wasn't shot in the past few days [...] He ruled out that the kidnappers belong to the al-Qaida terrorist network ... mehr

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Birgitt

Youtube Cyclist Video Was Uploaded From Damascus
13.05.2011 - ERR

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that the video of seven kidnapped Estonian cyclists posted on Youtube was uploaded from Damascus, Syria. The report was published in Lebanon's news website Naharnet, which also said that investigators know the names and addresses of the people responsible for uploading the video. Meanwhile, the authorities have not succeeded in identifying the senders of two emails from the purported abductors ... mehr


Mittlerweile ist bekannt, dass das im Internet verbreitete Video der entführten Esten von Damaskus aus ins Netz gestellt wurde, die für den Upload Verantwortlichen sind den Behörden ebenfalls mit Namen und Anschriften bekannt. Zum Verbleib der Entführten gibt es jedoch keine neuen Hinweise, die Baltic Times meldete diese Woche, dass man sich auf eine langwierige Suchaktion einstellt. Gemäß ERR gibt es auch seitens der Türkei Unterstützung bei der Suchaktion.


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Birgitt

Kidnapped Estonians transfered to Syria: security source
16.05.2011 - Daily Star

The case of the seven Estonian cyclists kidnapped in Lebanon is expected to return to the forefront of security and media attention with new information coming to light that indicates they were transferred to Syria ... mehr

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Estonians Still Alive, May Be Held Captive at Wadi al-Aswad
16.03.2011 - naharnet

The seven Estonian [...] are still alive, said a security source to the Central News Agency on Monday [...] It noted however that it appears that the kidnappers have handed the hostages to the sides that ordered the kidnapping, where they have been transported to the Fatah al-Intfada base in Wadi al-Aswad in the Bekaa Valley ... mehr

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Lebanese security locates abducted Estonians in Damascus, Al Rai
18.05.2011 - iloubnan

[...] The sources said Lebanese security indicated that the video of the Estonians which was uploaded to youtube was shot in Damascus, and that it was able to locate the street, building, floor, owner of the flat and his contact details ... mehr

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Birgitt

Kidnapped Estonians plead for help in new video
20.05.2011 - Daily Star

Seven Estonian tourists kidnapped in Lebanon two months ago pleaded for help in a video released Friday, criticising their government for abandoning them and saying they were in “great danger” [...] The foreign ministry said it had received the video late Thursday ... mehr mit Video



Gemäß ERR haben die Entführer bis heute keine einzige Forderungen gestellt.

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Lebanese Intelligence 'Denied Data' in Kidnapping Case
27.05.2011 - ERR

The commander of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, said his agency was denied telecom data last month connected to the ongoing hunt for the seven Estonian tourists who were kidnapped in the country in March. The acting Telecom Minister Charbel Nahhas refused to give access to the data, Naharnet reported on May 26. "Suddenly, someone had given the orders, and we know the identity of the people behind [those orders]," the Internal Security Forces chief said ... mehr

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Lebanon arrests four in connection to kidnapped Estonians
29.05.2011 - Daily Star

Lebanese authorities arrested four men believed to have information on the kidnapped Estonians early Sunday morning, security sources told The Daily Star. Abdel Rahman Mejzoub, his son Wissam, Mohammad Yassin and Nazir Bassel, were arrested just outside the town of Anjar near the Syrian border, the source said. At least 10 other suspects have been arrested since the investigation began ... mehr

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Vor 10 Tagen soll im Libanon (in Baalbek) ein holländischer Diplomat nach Syrien entführt und später - nach Bekanntwerden seiner Identität - in Damaskus freigelassen worden sein.

Siehe dazu Libanon - Entführung eines Diplomaten

Von den entführten Radfahrern fehlt weiterhin jede Spur.

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Birgitt

Estonians Kidnapped in Lebanon Are Still Alive, Daily Star Says
21.06.2011 - Bloomberg

The seven Estonians kidnapped in Lebanon in March are still alive, according to “analyses and pieces of information,” Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told Beirut’s Daily Star ... mehr

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Relatives got video of kidnapped Estonians: ministry
08.07.2011 - AFP

A video of seven Estonians kidnapped in Lebanon in March has been sent to their relatives, after two earlier videos were posted on the Internet, the Baltic nation's foreign ministry said Friday. "A third video showing all seven Estonians kidnapped in Lebanon was sent to some relatives of the kidnapped via their email addresses three weeks ago," ministry spokeswoman Minna-Liina Lind told AFP ... mehr


Ein neues, drittes, Video, dass alle 7 Entführten zeigt, ist vor drei Wochen per email an einige Verwandte der gekidnappten Esten geschickt worden.

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Abducted Estonians freed in Lebanon, in good health
14.07.2011 - Daily Star

The seven Estonian men abducted four months ago in east Lebanon were released in the Bekaa Valley Thursday and are doing well [...] released at 8.30 a.m. local time in Sahl al-Taybbeh, near the Bekaa Valley town of Britel, both Hezbollah strongholds [...] French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton said the release took place “as a result of efforts undertaken solely by Lebanon and Estonia,” adding that France had only provided diplomatic assistance [...] Lebanese authorities took the statements of the released captives to find out the circumstances behind their kidnapping and how they came to be set free in Sahl al-Taybbeh [...] The release, he added, took place without the knowledge of Lebanese authorities [...] Lebanese security authorities had no prior knowledge of the details of the operation and that they only knew of the release by French officials after the men had crossed Dahr al-Baidar, on the Beirut-Damascus highway ... mehr
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Libanon: Estnische Geiseln auf freiem Fuß
14.07.2011 - zenith

Sieben estnische Radfahrer, die im März im Libanon verschleppt worden waren, sind wieder auf freiem Fuß [...] Die genauen Umstände sowohl der Entführung als auch der Freilassung bleiben bisher dagegen weitgehend im Dunkeln. Der libanesische Fernsehsender Future News berichtet mit Berufung auf estnische Offizielle von »Kooperation von libanesischen und internationalen Partnern«, ohne weiter ins Detail zu gehen ... mehr





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Al hamdulillah! Jetzt ist nur zu hoffen, dass es sich nicht um den Beginn einer weiteren Serie von Entführungen handelt, die den Libanon während des Bürgerkrieges heimsuchte: Zwischen 1982 und 1992 wurden mehr als 100 Ausländer entführt. Zwar wurden die meisten wieder freigelassen, vielfach aber erst nach mehreren Jahren. Der Journalist Terry Andersen beispielsweise war als längste festgehaltene Geisel von März 1985 bis Dezember 1991 mehr als sechs Jahre in Geiselhaft.

Auch Frankreich, das jetzt offenbar mit den Geiselnehmern verhandelt hat, war damals von den Entführungen betroffen: Unter anderem wurde der bekannte Orientwissenschaftler Michel Seurat entführt und später ermordet.

Die letzten 1992 - zwei Jahre nach dem Ende des Bürgerkrieges - freigelassenen Geiseln waren die deutschen Mitarbeiter einer Hilfsorganisation, Heinrich Strübig und Thomas Kemtner.

Viele Grüße
Achim

According to official counts, Lebanese authorities were surprised by the news, since neither President Michel Sleiman nor Prime Minister Najib Mikati or the defense and interior ministers had prior knowledge of the release.

Quelle: Lebanons Arabic press digest---July-15-2011 - Daily Star, 15.07.2011

A judicial source said the investigation with the Estonians had revealed very important information about the identity of the kidnappers, the groups standing behind them and the place where they were detained.

Quelle: Estonians set free but hunt for captors persists - Daily Star, 15.07.2011

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Birgitt