Report: Estonians YouTube Video Uploaded from Damascus
Nearly two months after the kidnapping of seven Estonian cyclists in Lebanon, the case remains shrouded in mystery with little information gleaned on their whereabouts or those behind the abduction.
The seven men, all in their 30s, were nabbed on March 23 shortly after entering Lebanon on their bicycles from neighboring Syria.
Authorities initially appeared confident that the case would quickly be resolved after recovering a mini-van and car used in the kidnapping and arresting several people.
But the trail appears to have gone cold with two key suspects -- a Lebanese and a Syrian -- still on the run and no clear evidence as to who ordered the kidnapping.
There is also fear that given the political vacuum in Lebanon, which has been without a government for four months, and the upheaval in neighboring Syria, the case will be put on the backburner and forgotten.
"It's very dramatic because up until now the investigation was well carried out but our biggest concern now is that Lebanese authorities remain mobilized," said a Western diplomat familiar with the case on condition of anonymity.
He said the kidnappers were probably targeting Europeans of a different nationality, perhaps French, when they grabbed the Estonians.
"If I were a hostage taker, I wouldn't target Estonians," he said. "They were targeting foreigners and it would have suited them if these foreigners were other than Estonians."
Lebanese officials as well as a representative of the Estonian foreign ministry following the probe in Beirut declined comment for this article.
Officials from the French embassy, which has provided logistical support to the Estonians who have no embassy in Beirut, also refused comment.
Four of those arrested and charged in the case are Sunni fundamentalists, according to authorities who believe the men were hired to execute the abduction but did not mastermind the plan.
"These men were simply mercenaries carrying out orders from above," said a source familiar with the case who did not wish to be identified.
A previously unheard of group, Harakat Al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded an unspecified ransom to free the seven Estonians in two emails sent to a Lebanese news website.
An undated video last month was also uploaded to YouTube showing the Estonians begging Lebanese, Saudi, Jordanian and French leaders to secure their release.
The source said that while investigators had not been able to track down the origin of the two emails they had managed to determine that the video had come from Damascus.
"They (investigators) know the name and the address of the people behind this tape which originated in Damascus," he said, without elaborating.
"French and Estonian investigators are aware of this and the Estonians have appealed to Damascus for help."
The Western diplomat said that while there was speculation initially that Syria had ordered the kidnapping in order to later free the men and get credit, there was no evidence at this point to back that claim.
"There is no tangible evidence pointing to Damascus at this time," he said. "Our feeling is that this remains a Lebanese case and there is nothing to implicate Syria."
Abductions have been rare in Lebanon since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war during which nearly 100 foreigners, mostly Americans and western Europeans, were kidnapped.
Mariann Sudakov, spokeswoman for the Estonian foreign ministry told Agence France Presse that her government was doing its utmost to resolve the case.
"Our goal is that the seven kidnapped citizens of Estonia are released," she said. "The Crisis Commission ... continues to work with all involved agencies and international partners towards resolving the situation.
"Cooperation also continues with other Middle Eastern countries as well as European Union and NATO partners," she added.
Source: Agence France Presse
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