Abu dhabi // An alleged kidnap victim said he waited three days to report the incident because the culprits took photos of him in his underwear, the Criminal Court heard yesterday.
MA, an Emirati, said he was walking up the escalator in Carrefour on Airport Road when the defendant, F, also Emirati, started calling at him.
Then, along with four others, he surrounded him and they forced MA to go down to his car.
They forced him inside by threatening him with a knife, MA said.
“Then F took my car and they all took me to Al Ain.” He accused F of stealing money in his wallet and car up to Dh15,000, driving licence and Blackberry.
But when the judge asked him if he had his phone and why he did not use it to call for help, MA said the battery died.
He also claimed that after they held him for a day in Al Ain, F forced him to sell him his car.
“You were at a police department – why didn’t you call for help?” asked the defence lawyer.
“I am sure he wasn’t holding you at knifepoint in front of the police.”
The lawyer also said that CCTV footage from Carrefour’s parking area showed him voluntarily walking with F and riding inside the car.
“No I was threatened to get in,” he insisted.
Also in court MA said he did not know F from before the incident, “but in public prosecution he said he did, so his statements are contradicting”, added the lawyer.
The judge told her that she could argue the logic of the victim’s claims during her defence presentation.
The judge asked how the man was able to get rid of his kidnappers, whether they let him go or he managed to escape.
He said he was not able to escape, and that F kept calling his wife and threatening her.
When the defence lawyer asked why he waited three days after his release to report the kidnap, he said: “They took photos of me in my underwear and I was worried they will publish them.”
The case was adjourned until Thursday.
hdajani@thenational.ae
