Details of kidnapping 10 Egyptian youths in Libya

CAIRO - 24 January 2020: A state of sadness and anxiety swept through the families of 10 youths from the city of Beba in Beni Suef governorate after they were kidnapped in the Libyan city of Tobruk.

The mother of Muhammad Ezzat Yunus said her son had traveled to Libya with a group of youth from Beba, and they were kidnapped inside Libyan territory. She added, “My son traveled 22 days ago, and we know he was kidnapped in Libya.”

Ali Muhammad said his two sons, Muhammad and Mahmoud, were kidnapped with eight others from the city in a microbus in Libya’s Tobruk, adding that the kidnappers demanded LE 107,000 in exchange for the release of each of the ten youths.

Ahmed Mohamed Farghali, the father of Abdel-Rahman Ahmed, said that the kidnappers want LE 107,000 as a ransom, indicating that the families of the youth do not have this amount, adding, “If I had LE 50,000, I would not have allowed my son to travel... the kidnappers are threatening to torture and execute the young men.”

Abdel Hakim Abdel Aziz, Mahmoud Ali Saeed's father in law, said that Saeed had traveled to Libya on a microbus owned by a person from Beba, indicating they had heard the ten youths were kidnapped while they were still on the microbus.

Abdel Aziz added the kidnappers demanded 100,000 in exchange for the release of his son in law, added that the young man had only married his daughter 20 days before he travelled.

The wife of Aweys Fathi Mohamed, one of the kidnapped hostages in Libya, said she has seven children and does not have any money to pay the ransom.

Microbus driver told the families of the kidnapped youths that the kidnappers asked him to inform the families to pay LE 100,000 to each youth to release them.

Parliamentary Representative Hatem Al-Makki called on the government to move quickly and conduct contacts at the highest level to preserve the lives of these young people and return to their families.