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| Europe |
| Germany: Senior citizens face court over abduction |
| 2010-02-08 |
| FOUR disgruntled senior citizens have faced a German court of tying up, kidnapping and holding hostage their financial adviser after sustaining heavy losses in investments in the US property market. The four, two married couples aged between 63 and 79, as well as an alleged co-conspirator, were charged with ambushing the 56-year-old adviser, tying him up with tape and driving him across Germany, holding him hostage for four days last June. The hostage made a bid for freedom during the 480km journey, when the kidnappers let him out of the boot of the car for air, but he was recaptured and sustained two broken ribs in the struggle. The defendants then allegedly tied the adviser up in a cellar and forced him to sign documents promising to recoup some €2.5 million ($3.9 million) in rotten investments. However, according to media reports, the adviser managed to encode a secret SOS message in a fax to a Swiss colleague, who called the police. A team of commandos stormed the address, which they had worked out using details from the fax. The defendants gave themselves up without resistance. A verdict in the case is expected on March 23. The main suspect, identified only as Roland K, faces up to 15 years behind bars. If convicted, he would be released just before his 90th birthday. One of the suspects, 67-year-old Gerhard F, did not appear in court due to ill health. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 Wouldn't this story have made a great old-timey type movie? Could have starred people like the late Peter Sellers, Jackie Gleason and others of that era. Sigh. I'm getting old. |
| Posted by: Canuckistan sniper 2010-02-08 16:12 |