Dutch-Moroccan Businessman Missing for 8 Months After Alleged Police Abduction in Spain

"We miss him a lot and the children are suffering terribly from his absence," writes in an open letter published by the site eltaquigrafo, the wife of Jamal O., eight months after the mysterious disappearance of her husband and father of her five children. She still remembers that August 22, 2020 when he was kidnapped, before her eyes. Two vehicles equipped with police sirens blocked the Mercedes G-Wagon in which the couple and the children were returning from a restaurant in Puerto Banus, Marbella. Eight men in police uniform got out, threatened them with weapons and then assaulted Jamal several times before forcibly taking him away.

"Jamal was forced to get into a vehicle by a person with blond hair, short hair and striking blue eyes. I will never forget his gaze and I would recognize him if the Spanish police gave me the opportunity to do a photographic lineup," laments Jamal’s wife, who denounces the passivity of the police. "No one contacted me or listened to me. The only thing they offered me was to go to the police station to file a complaint," she said.

In eight months, Jamal’s family has not been informed of the level of the investigation. "We are desperate. It is a mental torture that we endure every day," she says, also deploring the way the press has handled the information, which, instead of dwelling on the mysterious disappearance of her husband, has rather endeavored to highlight Jamal’s dubious reputation, which could justify his kidnapping.

For the moment, three hypotheses are mentioned. First, it could be a kidnapping for a money issue. His wife refutes this first hypothesis, stating that Jamal "was successful as a real estate agent and was very generous. If someone needed money, he would take care of it without asking anything in return. But if he had been kidnapped for money, wouldn’t they have already asked for a ransom?" Secondly, the investigators lean towards a settling of scores and claim that Jamal would be involved in criminal organizations that handle millions of euros. "My husband was not that rich and did not have a criminal record either," assures his wife. Thirdly, the blow could come from his uncle with whom he is at odds. This latter, also a Dutch businessman of Moroccan origin, is engaged in intense political activity against the Moroccan regime, which, she says, is trying to capture him with the help of the Dutch authorities.

Jamal’s desperate family is asking the Dutch authorities to take over the case and speed up the investigation so that the missing person can be found as soon as possible. "Jamal was born and raised in the Netherlands," says his wife, recalling that the consulate has an obligation to assist citizens in difficult situations abroad. "We hope that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the embassy in Madrid will put pressure on the Spanish authorities to take Jamal’s kidnapping seriously," she added.