Palestinian Hostage Freed in Rabat; Suspects Include Ex-Police Officer

The alleged perpetrators of the Palestinian’s kidnapping are three in number. Among them, a former judicial police officer. Accused of kidnapping and sequestration, the three suspects were referred to the competent general prosecutor’s office in Rabat. These three individuals had surprised the Palestinian national in the vicinity of the Mohammed V mausoleum in the Hassan area, and had forced him to accompany them to Salé to extort money from him, reports Assabah.

Immediately afterwards, the Palestinian made them believe that he wanted to call his family to ask them for help, but he actually called the police. The police elements immediately went to the scene. The events took place in Bab Lakhmiss in the old medina of Salé. On their arrival, they broke in and managed to free the Palestinian. They discover that he is known to the police.

He was actively wanted nationwide for issuing bad checks and fraud. Placed in custody, he told the investigators that the three individuals who kidnapped him had asked his wife for a ransom in exchange for his release. The alleged hostage-takers flatly rejected these accusations. They claim that the suspect had rather defrauded them. The Palestinian would have rented apartments and transferred "key money" to other tenants before disappearing into thin air.

The former police officer explains that he had rented his apartment located in the "Machaa Allah" residential complex in the Al Wifak district in Témara to the suspect, but realized that he was the victim of fraud after the return of unpaid checks and the disappearance of the Palestinian.