Zerhouni reveals rare data on kidnappings
16/05/2008
Algeria recorded a total of 375 kidnapping cases in 2007, Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni told parliament on Thursday (May 15th). 115 of the cases were related to terrorism or involved demands for ransom, he said. In a rare public release of information, Zerhouni said that a total of 6 billion dinars had been demanded as ransom, and that families of victims had paid 1.2 billion dinars to abductors. The minister acknowledged that the actual number of kidnappings may have been higher, but many cases remain unreported, particularly those involving children abducted by paedophiles.
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