The kidnappers had taken the three Iranian young men hostage since June by tricking them about obtaining a European visa for them. They had asked their families for 50,000 euro as ransom money.
The kidnapped Iranians were tortured during the time they had been taken hostage. The kidnappers would send their families pictures of their tortures in order to pressure them into paying the ransom for the young men’s freedom.
This is one case in several other kidnapping incidents in recent months in Istanbul which involves Iranian tourists. Last month, a five-membered Iranian family had been taken hostage by Turkish kidnappers.
The rescue operation for the three Iranian tourists was carried out with the cooperation of embassy and consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Istanbul and in coordination and collaboration with Iranian police liaison in Ankara agency and the Turkish police.
Back in March, Iran’s Consul-General in Istanbul Bakhtiar Asadzadeh advised Iranians to avoid unnecessary travel to Turkey, saying the country is currently not a safe place.
According to Asadzadeh, the Iranians seeking to receive EU countries’ visas or travel as refugees or immigrants, are often victims of the swindlers and forgers which accost Iranians introducing themselves as someone related to the putative embassy.
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