Swede Kidnapped In Iraq Said To Have Been Released

STOCKHOLM, Sept 25 (AFP) - A Swedish citizen reportedly kidnapped in Iraq two weeks ago has been released, a friend of his told AFP on Saturday.
"We first received word that he had been released last night (Friday), but we still haven't talked to him directly," said Hans Iwan Bratt, a Swedish computer network consultant.
Abbas Ridha, a Swedish citizen of Iraqi origin who had reportedly returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, was according to Bratt kidnapped on September 10 while driving his car in the town of Hilla with his wife, her sister and her mother.
"They reached a roadblock and there was shooting at the car. The women were pushed out of the car, but Abbas was shoved into the trunk," Bratt said.
The Swedish foreign ministry has acknowledged that three Swedish citizens were feared kidnapped in Iraq earlier this month, but has not revealed their names.
Last week the ministry said that one of the Swedes had been found, but on Saturday spokesman Claes Jernaeus could not confirm that a second missing person had resurfaced.
"We have no such information," he told AFP.
According to Bratt, who has been in contact Ridha's Swedish family who in turn had spoken with several of his family members in Iraq, Ridha has been released and is injured.
"He apparently has trouble walking and has some injuries to his face," Bratt said, adding that his family thought his kidnapping had not been politically motivated.
"We think it was for economic reasons, but from what I have heard, no ransom has been paid," he said, adding that he hoped to hear directly from his friend by Sunday.
"I really hope this is true and that he is okay," he said.