Fate of kidnapped Cypriot still hangs in the balance

THE FATE of Garabet Jean Jikerjian, the Cypriot businessman kidnapped by Iraqi militants back in August, is still unknown.

Jikerjian’s aunt Rita Metzadourian yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that it has been a while since the kidnappers last made contact with anyone and that his family were now just waiting in hope.

“The demands are still the same and we are all still waiting. It has been a long time since the kidnappers last made contact with anyone. The last time anybody spoke to them was before Ramadan, which would make it three months now. The last sum they demanded was $1 million and neither the government of Cyprus or Lebanon is willing to pay that money because they say they do not negotiate with terrorists. Therefore, we are all just waiting in hope.”

Jikerjian, 40, has been listed as missing from the Iraqi capital since August 21, when kidnappers, disguised as policemen, broke into his house at night and took him away. According to amateur video footage released later by the kidnappers and posted on the internet, an unknown group of Iraqi militant gunmen called ‘The Group for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’ threatened to kill Jikerjian , who the group accused of working with an alcohol distribution firm that “deals with the occupiers”.
Seen in the video footage sitting on the floor with his hands and feet tied while a hooded gunman pointed an automatic weapon at his head, Jikerjian said, “I hold dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality and I work with the branches of the Jetco Trading company in Lebanon, Cyprus and Iraq. The company supplies foodstuffs and alcoholic beverages to the occupation forces and the Iraqi army.”

The unknown group first demanded the withdrawal of the company from Iraq plus a ransom fee of $20,000 for his release. The demands were met, but the kidnappers have since been demanding more money, which has not been paid to them. The ransom demands started at $2 million, then fell back to $1 million, $500,000, before rising back to $1 million.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.