Hostage to give evidence against the Somalis who captured him and his girlfriend
Bruno Pelizzari will appear before an Italian prosecutor today (25 June) to give evidence against the Somalis who captured him and his girlfriend.
Pelizzari, who holds dual SA and Italian citizenship, and South African Calitz were freed on Wednesday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and flown to Rome via Djibouti.
The Italians played a key role in freeing them, along with the SA, Turkish, Qatari and possibly other governments, as well as other organisations such as SA’s Gift of the Givers charity and the Somali community in SA.
That is part of the reason they flew to Italy. But Pelizzari also wanted to see his 83-year-old mother who lives in Lake Como near Milan.
The Italian judicial authorities also wanted him to relate the key facts of his ordeal in case they decide to open a case against those responsible for the abduction and other potential crimes, official sources said.
Crucial details of their 20 months in captivity and the circumstances of their release remain obscure, partly because the Italian authorities have decided to keep it under wraps for legal reasons until Pelizzari has testified, the sources said.
They were met in Rome on Thursday by SA embassy and Italian officials. .
Leaders in the Somali community in SA denied statements by Somali’s Transitional Federal Government this week that they had freed Pelizzari and Calitz in a military operation.
They said they were sure that they had been released after negotiations with their captors and that a ransom had been paid. But how much is still unclear.
Relatives of the two have said their captors originally asked for $10 million (about R86m) and SA officials and other sources have indicated the family was able to raise only R600 000 to R800 000.
Amir Sheikh, an executive member of the Somali Community Board, said yesterday the board, which represents the Somali community in SA, and specially its chairman Abdul Hakim Mohamed, had been closely involved in the negotiations for the release of Pelizzari and Calitz since soon after they were captured.
Source: iol news