Kidnapped SA couple ‘still alive’

Independent Online
Monday, March 26, 2012

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After months of not hearing from her brother and his partner after they had been kidnapped by Somali pirates, Durban woman, Vera Hecht, has finally received confirmation that the pair are alive.

Durban couple Bruno Pelizzari and Debbie Calitz were captured by Somali pirates in October 2010 and are being held hostage.

Hecht sought proof that her brother and his partner were still alive and received confirmation two weeks ago.

Speaking to the Daily News on Sunday Hecht said that “Ali”, the pirate she has been in communication with, gave her the proof she needed.

“He (Ali) let me ask Bruno and Debbie two questions that only they would know the answers to. And they answered correctly. They’re fine,” Hecht said. Hecht would not reveal what questions were put to Pelizzari and Calitz or the answers given by the couple.

The pair were captured, when the yacht they were working on as crew, the Choizil, was seized off the Madagascar/Mozambique Channel. The skipper, Peter Eldridge, who refused to get off the vessel, was rescued but the couple were taken hostage and are still being held awaiting payment of a ransom now standing at $1.5m (R11.5m).

Earlier this month the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and her Somali counterpart, Abdullahi Haji Hassan Mohamed, met to establish diplomatic relations between South Africa and Somalia.

Hecht, who is the families’ spokeswoman and official fund-raiser for their release, attended the meeting.

Hecht said after she received proof of life she “put an offer on the table” for the couple’s release.

“I’ve been waiting for Ali to come back to me about my offer,” she said.

The last contact the two had with their families was in September last year, when their captors allowed Pelizzari to call Hecht.

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