Bosnia arrests four Afghans over alleged kidnapping case

KABUL (Khaama Press): Four Afghan nationals have been arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia’s capital, for kidnapping three foreigners and demanding a ransom.

The victims, who hailed from Iran and Switzerland, were subjected to a demand for 18,000 euros (US$19,556) in ransom by their captors, as reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Officials from the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) have not disclosed the identities, gender, or immigration status of the victims or the suspects involved in the case.

The alleged kidnappers are suspected of being part of an organized crime group or association involved in criminal activities related to migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and kidnapping, according to SIPA. “This organized group of kidnappers subjected the abducted individuals to torture and physical abuse, resulting in severe injuries. One person required hospital treatment as a result of the ordeal,” SIPA said in a statement.

The abducted individuals were eventually released after the ransom was paid, at an undisclosed location outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina, report said. Additionally, one of the detained suspects is under investigation for potentially having connections to the murder of a migrant who was fatally stabbed in a temporary reception center for migrants in the country’s west on December 31 of the previous year, according to SIPA. Law enforcement agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina collaborated with police forces from Serbia and Switzerland, as well as with the country’s intelligence agencies, and units of Europol and Interpol. In 2023, nearly 35,000 migrants entered the Balkan country through the Balkan route, a significant migratory pathway into Europe, as reported by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR.