British kidnap victim released

Reports that emerged on 20 April 2009 indicated that a British man who had been kidnapped in the southern city of Odessa has been released following the payment of a US$16,000 ransom; the initial ransom demand had been for US$60,000. The kidnap victim has claimed that his abductors threatened to cut off his ears and take out his kidneys to sell them and that he was beaten during his captivity. A group of approximately three or four men abducted him (using a Taser on him and throwing him into the back of a van) as he was returning to his hotel from a restaurant in a casino at approximately 0500 local time on 7 April. He was originally kept in a garage, but was later moved to a sixth-floor apartment, where he at one point attempted to escape through a bathroom window. His guards worked in pairs of two, rotating every 12 hours. It is not known who was responsible for the abduction or why the man was targeted.