| Doctors Without Borders employee freed by intelligence veterans In Dagestan, on Sunday night, security services released the head of the local branch of the international organization Doctors Without Borders, Aryan Erkel, from gangster captivity. A citizen of the Netherlands was kidnapped back in August 2002, and the criminals, according to various sources, asked for a ransom of 5 to 10 million euros for him. Leaders of a number of states asked President Putin to help save an employee of Doctors Without Borders.
According to the official version, voiced yesterday by the chairman of the veterans’ organization of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Valentin Velichko, on Saturday night the kidnappers took Erkel out of the house where he had been held recently. The foreigner was blindfolded with a gauze bandage, after which he was driven for an hour along the country roads of Dagestan and dropped off at an appointed place. Mr. Erkel was taken from there by officers of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, and at three o’clock in the morning he was already in Makhachkala. Closer to the morning, employees of the SVR veterans organization called the Moscow branch of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and reported the release of the prisoner. Yesterday, early in the morning, a charter flight was ordered from the AVKOM airline, which delivered Mr. Erkel to the Russian capital at 15.25. Here he immediately went to the Dutch embassy. Towards evening, the head of the Dagestan branch of MSF came out to reporters. Mr. Erkel thanked everyone who had helped him over the years, especially mentioning foreign intelligence veterans, whom he called “real heroes.” The MSF official declined to comment further, citing fatigue. Already last night he was planning to fly to the Netherlands.
Valentin Velichko, in turn, said that Erkel was kidnapped by a “mixed international group”, which all this time kept the foreigner on the territory of Dagestan. “The location of the hostage changed five or six times,” said Mr. Velichko. “In the first case it was a room, in the rest - basements. Erkel was fed twice a day.” According to him, the organization of SVR veterans began to assist in the release of Erkel after friends of the MSF representative, the coaches of the Russian and Dutch national speed skating teams, approached it nine months ago. In December last year, people related to the kidnapping of Erkel were detained in Dagestan, and gradually the release of the foreigner was achieved. “The details of the operation are a big secret. I will not report them because people who are still being held hostage may get hurt. I just want to say: no ransom was paid,” said Mr. Velichko.
Aryan Erkel was kidnapped in Makhachkala on August 12, 2002. That day, he and his driver were visiting translator Aminat Gunasheva. When the men left the house late at night and headed to the car, they were attacked by unknown people. Mr. Erkel received a strong blow to the head, after which he was taken away in an unknown direction. The kidnappers, through intermediaries, contacted representatives of MSF and the Dutch authorities several times demanding a ransom. The leadership of Doctors Without Borders stated that they refused to give up the money and made it clear that Russian special services could be behind the kidnapping. Western media even published detailed stories about how Erkel was monitored by Russian security forces shortly before the attack. The intelligence services did not deny this. True, they noted that they were interested in Mr. Erkel because there was information about his possible involvement in two foreign intelligence services at once. At the same time, the MSF employee allegedly showed an “unhealthy interest” in the political situation in the North Caucasus, the actions of the Russian military there, etc. In addition, he was seen in repeated meetings with representatives of the US military attache in Russia. The intelligence services warned Mr. Erkel that militants were preparing to kidnap him and offered him security, but he refused it.
Advances in the investigation occurred late last year. The intermediaries then provided MSF with a video recording of Mr. Erkel asking for a ransom payment. And then the kidnappers allowed the leadership of Doctors Without Borders to ask several written questions to the hostage. In December, several people involved in the kidnapping were detained. After this, the intelligence services received information that one of the deputies of the People's Assembly of Dagestan, whose relatives were more than once seen communicating with Wahhabis and Arab mercenaries, could be involved in the attack on Mr. Erkel. Allegedly, one of them turned out to be an FSB agent who participated in the elimination of Khattab. In exchange for the loss of such a financial source, the militants demanded that the traitor's relatives kidnap a rich foreigner and pay a ransom. According to the unofficial version, pressure was allegedly put on the parliamentarian, after which the foreigner was released. However, the version with the payment of a ransom, which is how many other high-profile kidnappings ended, cannot be ruled out either. German ALEXANDROV |
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