Imtiaz Sooliman – SA’s captive Shiraaz Mohamed freed from Syria

Has been freed. He's a South African photographer who is

kidnapped in 2017 in Syria. Let's now go to Dr MTR suriman of the

gift of the givers, thanks so much for your time on sabc news this

morning. Take us through what you know at the moment. You

we seem to have lost Dr Imtiaz suriman off the gift of the givers

that breaking news coming in reports that photographer who was

kidnapped around three years ago in Syria may have had his freedom.

Dr Imtiaz Suleiman and the gift of the givers have been, of course,

working closely to try and negotiate his release. The

photographer was sent there as part of the gift of the givers,

and we know that there has been about three years of negotiations

of false leads and videos of that photographer, Shiraz Muhammad

pleading for his freedom. He apparently sent his ex wife a

message saying that the South African government and the gift of

the givers were trying to negotiate his release. It's been

about three years before anything has happened. Doctor MTS Suleiman,

of gift of the givers joins us on the line. Thanks so much for your

time on sabc news this morning. Doctor Suleiman, talk to us about

what you know about the possible release of this photographer, what

is not so much about religious Good morning. You know, we got a

message from someone who called us yesterday afternoon to say that

Shiraz is free, that Shiraz escaped, actually, in their words,

escape and that went to a certain area. I give too many details, but

he will see the details are very sketchy, but they found him and

that, you know, they want to make sure. And we so we wanted to make

sure, you because Shiraz. So we said, Are you sure it does? They

said, yes. So we said, Can you send us a picture? They send us a

picture. And then they said, look. We said, thank you very much. We

need the picture to pass on to his family, you know, although, and

they told him we're not involved in the script anymore, but there's

a courtesy. We will inform the family. They then said, okay, and

then they got back to us. A few hours later. They said within

themselves, they took a decision that, because we not involved in

the case and they don't know anyone else, they handed it over

to the Turkish intelligence. And then they send out a second

picture in the night, say to Surat, before they handed him over

to Turkish intelligence. Is now safe for them, and now let the

government follow the processes to bring Shiraz back home. We invite

send a message to minister, Minister nalodipano Last night,

the consular services and to other people in deco they all

acknowledge the messages, and I told them, now it's their

responsibility to speak to the Turkish Government to get Shiraz

back home. And of course, I informed his family too and send

the pictures to them. That's Doctor Suleiman, do we have an

indication of when those Turkish authorities and the South African

government will make sure that he is home? Well, that ninth

relationship between the two governments, the South African

government, has to contact the Turkish government, or vice versa,

and between the two of them, the processes generally don't take too

long, you know, it just depends how fast the two governments work.

So the Turkish have been beside the hostage situation they've had

the other people have been trapped in Syria. They've been making

moves to move as many people following us after the country, as

fast as possible, especially those who have been trapped in other

areas in Syria. So we know they're quite keen to move everybody very,

very quickly. I don't think it should be a long process. It is

given how fast our government and then talk to each other, they know

about it, and we informed our government. Hopefully it will

happen quite fast. Doctor Suleman, I know that what you're telling us

now is, is you a gift of the givers not being involved in

securing that freedom, but you have been involved since around

2017 in trying to secure his release. Could just give us some

insight into the difficulty and the sensitivity around that

process.

The problem is that, you know, at that point, we didn't know who

took him, because he was visiting our hospital. He went to take he

was a photo journalist. He wanted to take pictures, and carried,

carry the story of Syria, and they couldn't understand who were taken

in an area that was controlled by particular group. And over the

period of time, we were trying to trace him, you know. And and the

situation in hostage cases, especially in the war zone,

everybody claims they have him. But when they when that claim

comes a request for money, $10,000 to inform you, $20,000 we can get

information. So there's a lot of people take chances, and you have

to filter out what the child, who the chances are, and where the

information is genuine, and that's a complicated process. And also

you have to make sure that once you make contact with the captors,

or you keep the role of the negotiation line open to get to

some kind of finality, because there was no request, there was no

demand, nothing was told was and that process took place up to

September last year. And eventually, September last year,

somebody called us and said, Look, I can have to find Shiraz. So we

told him, the same thing. We told everybody else, like we there's

100 people, everybody can find Shiraz. Everybody knows Shiraz.

Everybody wants money. And then he died. Nothing happened. And then

around December.

Or January, January, sometime early this year, A call came to

say, look, I can help you kiss me. So we sent him a list of a couple

of questions, you know, no video, just a couple of questions, and

said, it's this, the person who answers this destiny, Shiraz only

he will know the answers to that. And within a few minutes, the

replies came back, and we check we should answer me. They said it's

100% you can only we should also give that answer a little later on

April, I think it was they gave us a proof of live video, and the

negotiations were carrying on. And at that at one stage, like we

wanted $3 million it was first $5 million came down to $4 million

came down to $3 million we were coming down to $1 million and as

we were making progress, the family then decided they wanted to

get somebody else to get involved in Shiraz case. And we said, look,

every family has a right to choose whoever they want. And we withdrew

from the case. And since then, we haven't been involved. And now

suddenly we get this call, you know, last night, because

everybody in Syria knows, like you know that we were involved in the

case, but not many people knew that we had withdrawn in June. Do

we have insight into why these type of kidnappings happen?

Because it's not the first time that a South African national has

been kidnapped and then a ransom demanded in that region. Well, the

unique thing about this is that he's a Muslim guy. Because that's

unique thing a Muslim guy being taken in a Muslim country. That's

not normal. You know, that doesn't happen normally. It's normally. In

the old days, it was all like Europeans or Americans, the people

of, you know, European decent Americans, they were taken as

hostage. But in recent years, attacking has changed, because

it's no more an ideology or a political issue or some kind of

statement to make, in terms of on a political statement, it's not,

it's a straightforward money business. People have realized

they captured somebody. It doesn't matter who it is, whether he has

some strong political leaning, whether he's a ambassador or he's,

you know, some kind of great leader. He doesn't just tell them

that anymore. They catch somebody. It has become a money making

business. And in a situation like Syria, you can understand there is

no economy. The country is in total ruins. Nobody's working. The

fastest way to make money is to capture a quarter. And you're not

the only one. I mean, there's been lots of people captured, and now

the patterns have even changed. The experience are capturing

Syrians where they know, okay, this Syrians are about their

family. Quick way to make money. So it has become a big money

business. But they justified and Shiraz escapes, they said many

times, nor is an American spine, is an Israeli spy, is a British

spy. But there's no proof. So they keep on justifying themselves to

make themselves relevant, and they say some kind of a spy. And of

course, they couldn't put this any proof, and the end is all about

making money. And took Shiraz was good fortune. You know, luckily,

he managed to escape from there. Because, I mean, nobody was going

to come up with $3 million they eventually came down to $1 million

and nobody was was going to be able to afford the kind of money,

and you would have been there for a long time. Dr, MTR. Suriman,

thanks so much for the update and information that you've given us

speaking about the escape of Shiraz Mohammed in Syria, he is

apparently now safe with Turkish authorities and the second

government will negotiate for his safe return home.