25391: Wharram - news - 65-year-old Montreal woman abducted in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Bruce Wharram <bruce.wharram@sev.org>


Yahoo! News
65-year-old Montreal woman abducted in Haiti

Mon Jun 13, 2:10 PM ET

A 65-year-old Montreal woman was reportedly kidnapped in Haiti and
threatened with execution by her abductors if her family does not pay a
300,000 US dollar ransom.

The woman, whose name was not released at the request of the family, was in
Port-au-Prince for six months to help launch a solar-powered
telecommunications business with her Haitian husband, according to Quebec's
LCN network.

"Around 13:00 local time (Sunday), several individuals showed up at her
home, kidnapped her in front of several witnesses and two and a half hours
later, they called her family in Montreal" to demand the ransom be paid
before noon (1600 GMT) Monday, the network said.

Her niece told LCN that she was able to talk to the hostage by telephone and
that she seemed "very calm."

According to LCN, the woman is known in Haiti for her charitable work.

Kidnappings have been on the rise in the country lately. According to
statistics, there have been as many as 200 people abducted in recent months
in the capital.

Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse.