Israeli kidnapped in Ethiopia released after 3 weeks in captivity

Israeli-Ethiopian citizen Francis Adbabayi, who was kidnapped in the environs of the Ethiopian city of Gondar in the Amhara region three weeks ago, was released on Monday and is expected to return to Israel on Tuesday. Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to Al-Monitor that the embassy had received information from the local police commander that Adbabayi had been freed.

According to a report in the Israeli news outlet Mako, 79-year-old Adbabayi was rescued by Ethiopian special forces after a chase and shootout with the kidnappers. After being rescued, he was brought back to Gondar, where he met with two of his children who had traveled from Israel to Ethiopia in an effort to find their father.

Many details of this incident remain unclear. Shortly after the kidnapping, the family received a ransom demand in the form of a picture of Adbabayi handcuffed and an audio message from their father saying "Help me. I'm in the middle of the jungle. It's pouring rain. I should have come on Sunday and I'll probably stay here. Such a fate should not even be bestowed on one’s enemies." The Israeli Foreign Ministry said at the time it was aware of the affair and was handling it via its consular department in Israel and the Israeli consulate in Addis Ababa. 

According to a Walla report shortly after the incident, Israeli authorities suspected that the kidnapping and ransom request were staged, and so the embassy had stopped handling the case. The Israeli Foreign Ministry never confirmed that, stating it continues handling the case vis-a-vis local authorities.

According to the Mako report on Monday, the children of Adbabayi felt the case was not treated seriously, so they approached an Israeli Knesset member of Ethiopian origin, Pnina Tamano-Shata. The parliamentarian put them in touch with an Israeli businessman of Ethiopian origin, with contacts to Ethiopian secret services, who agreed to help the family. The Mako report said that the kidnappers tried to smuggle Adbabayi out of Ethiopia into Sudan but were stopped by Ethiopian special forces before they could flee the country.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm this report, noting simply it had been in contact throughout the affair with the local police who were handling the case. 

At least two Israelis — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — have been held in Gaza by Hamas since 2014 and 2015, respectively. Both men apparently wandered freely into the Strip, and both suffer from mental health issues. A third Israeli — academic researcher Elisabeth Tsurkov — was kidnapped in Iraq by the Kataib Hezbollah militia last March.