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Syrian rebels demand $ 50 million from the Ukrainian authorities - the price of the liberation of the abducted journalist Anhar Kochneva. The New Times managed to go to the kidnapper
Anhar Kochnev has always been a decisive supporter of Assad regime
At first, Anhar Kochnev allegedly wanted to exchange for the Syrian oppositionist, but the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry could not fulfill this condition. Kyiv officially turned to representatives of the European Union for help, according to rumors, employees of the Russian special services were involved in the liberation of Kochneva, and Arab bloggers are discussing the oddities and inconsistencies of this abduction.
Box instead of exchange
Anhar Kochneva, a freelance correspondent of the Portal.ru portal and a number of other media, an active participant in the Russian tourism business (specialized in the Syrian direction), has been working in Damascus for more than a year and a half - primarily as a journalist. On October 10, at about 5 p.m., she left the club of officers in Tartus to the city of Homs, where another militants were supposed to take place. I went by taxi, which safely took it to one of the villages near Homs. On the same day, Anhar called out to the journalists and said that she had been abducted.
From this moment around her fate, the goals of the abduction, the personalities of the abductors themselves, etc. Many speculations arose, and only recently more or less intelligible information appeared. Last week, the New Times correspondent contacted one of the alleged nomadic abductors. He introduced himself as Abu Jandal, the commander of the 73rd battalion of the “Free Army of Syria”, and said that the journalist really abducted the opposition militants and that they first wanted to exchange it with the help of the Ukrainian authorities for a certain prominent Syrian opposition. But since Kyiv did not find the opportunity to influence Damascus, the rebels decided to change the requirements and requested the liberation of the nomadic $ 50 million. According to Abu Jandal, video materials from Kochneva were sent to Lahdara, the UN specialist and the League of the Arab states (LAG) in Syria. He also said that soon the al-Juzira channel will show a revealing story about a journalist, who, they say, is actually a Ukrainian spy, and about her participation in the murder of 66 people in Homs.
Abduction
The media learned about the abduction of Kochneva on October 12: Daria Mitina, her friend and also a journalist, said that Anhar, perhaps, was abducted in the area of the city of El-ukera, 20 km from Homs. On the same day, at 9.30 in the morning, the former husband Dmitry Petrov came to SMS message: “I hope everything will be fine soon. Do not write. " The ex-wife turned to the Syrian authorities, to the Russian and Ukrainian embassies. Formally, the Russian Foreign Ministry should not take part in search, as Anhar Kochnev is a Ukrainian citizen, but agreed to assist.
On October 15, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych instructed the Ministry of Defense to investigate the case and take measures to liberate Kochneva. “A journalist, a citizen of Ukraine, who worked for Russian television channels, disappeared in Syria. I immediately instructed to find out all the circumstances of the incident and protect the rights and interests of a citizen of Ukraine, ”his press service reported the presidential words.
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Soon Al-Jazira will show the revealing story about her participation in the murder of 66 people in Homs
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On October 16, an assumption appeared that Anhar Kochnev could be exchanged for an influential Syrian oppositionist. Access to view posts in her LJ was closed. On October 19, according to some reports, Anhar talked with Ukrainian diplomats. Several times, new SSMEMS were laid out on her Internet pages.
In early November, on the Internet on Youutube and in the Facebook group “Syrian Revolution. Homs ”appeared a video called“ Ukrainian Spy working with Russian officers, in the hands of a free army ”. Kochneva sits in front of the camera in his scarf and says in Arabic the following: “My name is Anhar, now I am in the city of Homs. I ask the Ukrainian and Russian embassies and the Syrian government to fulfill what the abductors require. ” The quality of the “picture” is very bad, judging by it, the recording was carried out on a mobile phone, which is strange. The rebels rarely do this - in each battalion there is a standard video camera, usually removed on it, especially if it comes to the filming of the prisoner.
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| "My name is Anhar, now I am in the city of Homs." This video appeared on YouTube in early November |
Inexceptions
The abduction from the first day looks extremely ambiguous. No one still can explain why the journalist hit the road in the evening, because it is very dangerous on the road in the dark. Why did Anhar did not allow Blogger Elena Gromova, her friend, her friend, did she really suspect something? How did it happen that the abductors gave the opportunity to use a mobile phone? Why was the record posted only a few weeks after the abduction, did not report anything about their requirements and did not even confirm the identity of the nomadic? Neither dates for records, nor standard questions that the rebels usually ask prisoners.
Finally, who abducted the journalist? The militants of the "Free Army of Syria" or radical groups with whom contact is practically impossible? But the radicals would not allow her to sit in front of the camera with her head covered.
A wide variety of rumors go in the Moscow Arabian diaspora. And that Kochneva was the mistress of the Consul of Syria in the Russian Federation Abdula ecam al-Ali. And that she worked closely in Moscow with businessman Ambzad Duba, the son of Ali Duba, who led the Syrian state security at Hafez Assade, the father of the current president. That, they say, after the abduction, government troops bombed El-ukeire for four days-a town next to which Kochnev disappeared. They say that the Russian tourist company "Jordanian Club", which it owns, allegedly supplied prostitutes in Egyptian and Syrian officers. That the abduction was ordered by Syrian opposition from Moscow, and the FSB and the FSB are engaged in its liberation. And many more gossip, rumors and versions.
From the first day of the abduction, the New Times correspondent asked the rebels from Homs and El-ukera about the possible whereabouts of the journalist. The al-Faruk was replied in the battalion of the free army that they not only did not know where it was, but they did not hear anything about Anhar Kochneva. In mid -November, a response came from a person who claims that it was he who published a video with Anhar Kochneva:
“Good afternoon, she is really a spy, and we arrested her when she was traveling from Tartus with a military convoy heading to Homs, and we will release her very soon after we conduct negotiations with her government. We will give more evidence against her and the Russian regime, as well as what this spy does in Syria and some Arab states. Mohamad al Homsi. "
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We will give more evidence against her and the Russian regime, as well as what this spy does in Syria
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“Mohamad Al Homsi” is a soldier of the “Free Army of Syria”. It is impossible to confirm or refute who is the author of this note for certain.
One way or another, the fact remains: Anhar Kochnev has been connected with Syria and Jordan for several years, has done a lot to popularize tourism in this region, in recent years she was actively engaged in journalistic work, and is considered an unconditional and decisive side of the ruling regime and a convinced critic of the opposition. She released dozens of reports and photographs, published many notes and posts in LiveJournal, other social networks and blogs. And when she was abducted, the regime that she defended did not find the opportunity to enter into negotiations with the abductors.
Photo: Anhar.livejournal.com, YouTube.com