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Russia keeping Pakistani kidnappers behind bars
A Moscow Court turned down an appeal against an earlier ruling sentencing a gang of Pakistani kidnappers to up to 10 years in a penal colony for holding Indian nationals hostage and demanding a ransom from their families, the Interfax news agency reported. Nothing screams "vacation resort" like a Russian penal colony! Three Russian citizens of Pakistani decent were sentenced in May to 10, nine and eight years in a high security labor colony for kidnapping nine Indian citizens in Moscow. The court found them guilty of extortion and kidnapping — the prosecutors were able to prove that the kidnappers forcefully held the Indians and had them call relatives in India after giving their victims cell phones, demanding $4,000 for the release of each hostage. In January of 2003, police and FSB agents arrested the kidnappers in Tula, 200 kilometers south of Moscow, where they were holding the nine Indians. The criminal group, however, had spread far beyond Moscow, and included residents of several Eastern European countries. The organization specialized in the illegal transfer of Pakistanis, Indians, and Bangladeshis through Eastern Europe. The kidnappers would initially offer their victims a free transfer into Europe, and then hold them for ransom. Posted by: Dar 2004-10-19 |
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