Belarus hostage freed without ransom in Nigeria
Iryna Ekpo-Uma, a citizen of Belarus married to a Nigerian husband, was on May 16 in the evening freed by kidnappers, after having spent 11 days as a hostage. At night, she called her daughter Rosalina and brother Aleh in Minsk and told them that she was injured and was to undergo medical treatment in Nigeria. The Compass Group, the British company that employs Iryna, told the European Radio for Belarus that no ransom was paid for her release.
Mr Christopher King, the spokesman for the Compass Group, confirmed over the phone to the European Radio for Belarus that Iryna was indeed freed:
"Finally, we have agreed with the kidnappers and Iryna is now free, but the negotiations were very complicated. We were not sure of anything until the very last moment. Unfortunately, we cannot reveal the details of our negotiations with the bandits, because we would not like to do harm to Iryna. Please understand us correctly. The woman is free and that's the most important thing. I can say that we did not pay any money to the kidnappers".
The kidnappers demanded $1.2 million to be paid as ransom for the release of the Belarusian woman. Mr Kaale, the Nigerian police investigator in this case, also refused to comment to the European Radio for Belarus on the details of Iryna's release.
The Compass Group was in talks with the bandits for two weeks, while all the staff was waiting for the results of the negotiations:
"We are very happy that Iryna is now free. We want to offer her a leave so that she could visit her family and possibly live through what happened to her".
The European Radio for Belarus called Iryna's brother Aleh who lives in Minsk. Here is what he told us about his brief phone conversation with his sister:
"I had a phone call at night. Iryna called me. She was speaking quickly, but she sounded happy. She told me that everything was okay. But she said that she was wounded, her bone being injured. She said she was going to be admitted to a local hospital. She did not tell me any details of her release".
Photo by minsk.kp.ru
Mr Christopher King, the spokesman for the Compass Group, confirmed over the phone to the European Radio for Belarus that Iryna was indeed freed:
"Finally, we have agreed with the kidnappers and Iryna is now free, but the negotiations were very complicated. We were not sure of anything until the very last moment. Unfortunately, we cannot reveal the details of our negotiations with the bandits, because we would not like to do harm to Iryna. Please understand us correctly. The woman is free and that's the most important thing. I can say that we did not pay any money to the kidnappers".
The kidnappers demanded $1.2 million to be paid as ransom for the release of the Belarusian woman. Mr Kaale, the Nigerian police investigator in this case, also refused to comment to the European Radio for Belarus on the details of Iryna's release.
The Compass Group was in talks with the bandits for two weeks, while all the staff was waiting for the results of the negotiations:
"We are very happy that Iryna is now free. We want to offer her a leave so that she could visit her family and possibly live through what happened to her".
The European Radio for Belarus called Iryna's brother Aleh who lives in Minsk. Here is what he told us about his brief phone conversation with his sister:
"I had a phone call at night. Iryna called me. She was speaking quickly, but she sounded happy. She told me that everything was okay. But she said that she was wounded, her bone being injured. She said she was going to be admitted to a local hospital. She did not tell me any details of her release".
Photo by minsk.kp.ru
