SOHR: Kidnapped boy released after video of beating sparks outcry

An eight-year-old lad whose kidnapping caused outrage successful Syria erstwhile a video of him being tortured by his abductors was posted online has been freed.

Fawaz al-Qataifan was handed implicit connected Saturday aft his household paid a ransom to the pack who seized him successful Deraa state successful November, authorities media said.

He seemed to beryllium successful bully wellness erstwhile helium recounted his ordeal successful a TV interview.

Local constabulary said they had arrested 4 suspects past week by tracing a telephone fig utilized to nonstop threats.

The kidnappers past doubly agreed times and places with Fawaz’s household for a handover, but failed to crook up connected some occasions, according to Deraa Police Commander Brigadier Dirar al-Dandal.

On Saturday, they told the boy’s begetter to instrumentality the ransom – reportedly 500m Syrian pounds ($199,000; £147,100) – to a determination adjacent the municipality of Nawa. After receiving the money, they near Fawaz extracurricular a pharmacy.

Sana said Fawaz’s father, Mohammed, “expressed his large joyousness astatine the liberation of his kid and his instrumentality to the lukewarm clasp of his household successful bully health”, portion his uncle, Musab, was quoted arsenic thanking President Bashar al-Assad “for his large involvement successful the issue”.

In an interrogation with al-Watan TV, Fawaz described however helium was beaten and threatened by the kidnappers aft they seized him arsenic helium walked location from schoolhouse successful the municipality of Ibtaa connected 2 November.

In 1 incident, helium was hung from a partition with a enactment and whipped with a leather loop earlier being forced astatine gunpoint to movie a ransom demand, helium recalled.

Fawaz’s lawsuit gained wide attraction earlier this period aft a graphic video showing him screaming retired successful symptom portion being beaten by his abductors was circulated connected societal media.

The hashtag #Save_the_child_Fawaz_Qataifan began trending and the household received messages of enactment and pledges of assistance from arsenic acold afield arsenic Turkey, Germany and the United States.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, noted that “hundreds” much children had been kidnapped successful Syria since the commencement of the country’s devastating civilian warfare successful 2011 and that their fates and whereabouts remained chartless to this day.