The Foreign Ministry on Thursday said it was no longer handling the matter of the 79-year-old Wudoo Adebabayi from Rishon LeZion, who was allegedly kidnapped for ransom during a trip to Ethiopia. The ministry now believes claims of his abduction were fraudulent and that he attempted to force his family to send him money.
Read more:
Adebabayi traveled to Ethiopia to visit his native Gondar, in the northern part of the country, where his relatives reside. From there, he sent a voice message to Israel: "Help me, I'm in the middle of the jungle, heavy rain is falling." He also sent a photo of his palms, and the captors allegedly demanded around 2.5 million Ethiopian birr for his release, approximately $46,000.
information that has come to light in the investigation into the Israeli abduction case in Ethiopia indicates there is no longer any need for the Foreign Ministry's involvement after Adebabayi answered phone calls he received from Israel, officials in the ministry said.
"That's not true. They kidnapped my father and they want money; they just want to silence the matter. Adebabayi's son Avi said. "We are afraid that something might happen to him. The kidnappers called again, demanded money, and said they would not even deliver us a body.
"We don't know if it's a hoax. We know that there's a recording circulating on social media of a Christian man claiming that he wasn't kidnapped but went out to have fun, but we don't know if it's reliable," another family member said.