Posted on 04/11/2004 10:32:26 PM PDT by RussianConservative
Arjan Erkel, center, talking to reporters outside the Dutch Embassy on Sunday. Former security service officer Valentin Velichko, far left, assisted in Erkel's release in Dagestan.
Kidnapped Dutch aid worker Arjan Erkel was released in Dagestan on Sunday after 20 months of captivity and flown to Moscow.
Erkel, a worker for Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, was freed early Sunday morning in what Dagestani authorities described as a special operation. There was some indication that an agreement had been struck with the kidnappers, whose identities have not been revealed.
MSF officials in Moscow said no ransom had been paid for Erkel's release, which they said they first heard about from an association of retired Russian security service officers that had helped secure his release.
After being flown to Sheremetyevo Airport on Sunday afternoon, Erkel was due to fly on to the Netherlands later in the evening, MSF representatives said.
A bearded, tired-looking Erkel spoke to reporters at the Dutch Embassy in Moscow.
"I want to thank the Lord who brought me back to life today. I want to thank the Easter bunny who brought me back to Makhachkala in a big chocolate egg," Erkel said, adding, "It's a joke -- I feel fantastic. If I was in Rotterdam, I would kiss the ground."
Erkel, who is 34, had bags under his eyes and looked much thinner than in pictures taken before his kidnapping. He did not take any questions.
Dagestani Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Musayev said by telephone from Makhachkala that Erkel had been freed as the result of a special operation, conducted jointly by the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service.
Musayev would not give any details of the release, saying they would be announced by federal law enforcement agencies in Moscow. No announcement was made Sunday.
MSF spokesman Mark Walsh said that while Erkel, who was held for 607 days, did not require urgent healthcare, he would undergo a thorough medical exam.
Erkel, who headed MSF's North Caucasus mission, was abducted by three unidentified gunmen on the outskirts of Makhachkala on Aug. 12, 2002.
Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Bart Jochems thanked the Russian government, other governments and international organizations for their actions that led to Erkel's release.
"We don't know how this has come about, but we are extremely happy that this ordeal is really over," Erkel's father, Dick Erkel, told Dutch NOS television, Reuters reported.
Walsh said that MSF officials received a telephone call from an organization called Veterans of Foreign Intelligence at 5 a.m. Sunday, informing them of the release. MSF representatives flew to Makhachkala immediately to bring Erkel to Moscow.
Throughout his captivity, MSF, Erkel's family and supporters had urged the Russian authorities to make greater efforts to liberate him.
In November 2002 the authorities closed the investigation into Erkel's disappearance, but reopened the inquiry in May 2003 under pressure from the Dutch government.
MSF stepped up its criticism of the authorities in recent months, after receiving information that Erkel was ill and at risk of execution. Last month MSF publicly accused the Russian authorities of blocking Erkel's release.
MSF president Jean-Herve Bradol went as far as to accuse the authorities of complicity in the kidnapping. Russian authorities had earlier acknowledged that two FSB agents had witnessed Erkel's abduction.
In December, the head of the Dagestani police unit charged with fighting kidnapping was himself arrested on suspicion of involvement in abductions.
Some human rights organizations have accused the military of complicity in kidnappings in Chechnya and neighboring Dagestan.
Anna Neistat, head of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch, welcomed Erkel's release but said there were still more questions than answers.
"The question is where Arjan was after he was abducted and who was behind his disappearance," Neistat said, Interfax reported.
A source close to MSF said last month that efforts to secure Erkel's release would be on the agenda during President Vladimir Putin's meetings with French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard SchrÚder and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in early April.
But Ivan Safranchuk of the Center for Defense Information said he did not think there was any link between Putin's meetings and Sunday's release.
Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent defense analyst, suggested that Erkel's release could have been the result of an agreement with the kidnappers, rather than a storming operation by special forces. "Special operations are usually fictions," he said. "Obviously, the fact that he was released suggests that a certain agreement was reached."
Valentin Velichko, head of the Veterans of Foreign Intelligence, a group of retired security service officers, who sat by Erkel at the news conference, appeared to confirm that there was no storming operation.
Velichko said he personally arrived at the place where the kidnappers brought Erkel in the early hours of Sunday morning. He said the place was an hour's drive from Makhachkala, but did not elaborate further.
Velichko said that while in captivity, Erkel was kept in several different locations, including in a basement. He was given food twice a day, Velichko said.
Throughout his captivity Erkel was beaten just once, when he was abducted. One of the abductors hit Erkel on the head with the butt of a gun and broke his finger, Velichko said.
Velichko said his group got involved in Erkel's case nine months ago when he was approached by a Dutchman, Henk Gemser, a friend of Erkel's family, who asked for help in freeing Erkel.
MSF had refused to pay a ransom because it said it would jeopardize the safety of other aid workers.
MSF has not been active in Dagestan since Erkel's kidnapping, but had maintained an office with a few local staff as a place for the kidnappers to make contact.
The MSF mission Erkel ran in Dagestan gave medical aid to refugees who fled fighting in Chechnya and also helped distribute medical supplies to local hospitals.
On Russian television news Sunday evening, no mention of Erkel's release was made, despite the story being reported extensively on Interfax and by international media.
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