What Do We Know About the '29-Month Kidnapping' of a Family in Rasht?

Nine members of a family in Rasht were held as 'hostages' in their home for '29 months' and revealed their story six months after their release. The Rasht prosecutor confirmed this news and stated that the kidnappers had a history of kidnapping. According to the Rasht prosecutor, the kidnapping occurred in December 2021 and lasted for 29 months. He claimed that the police freed the hostages and arrested the kidnappers in less than an hour after being informed. However, the prosecutor did not provide information on the time of their release, but media reported it as July of this year. The prosecutor stated that the kidnappers were two brothers and a woman, two of whom had a history of kidnapping and had been sentenced to eight years in prison but had escaped. According to Article 621 of the Islamic Penal Code, the punishment for kidnapping can range from five to 15 years in prison. The case of the kidnapping of a family of nine, which lasted 29 months and ultimately led to the release of eight members, could be one of the strangest criminal cases in Iran. A case that was supposed to remain hidden even after its resolution until a local media outlet published the news. 'Noor News' reported on January 1st that a family had been held captive for 29 months, and after that, other media outlets began to write about it until on January 6th, the Rasht prosecutor confirmed the news and shared his account of the incident. Mehdi Fallah Miri announced that the kidnapping began in December 2021 and claimed that the police, after receiving reports from the public, freed the family members in less than an hour. Media outlets quoted Morteza Alamkhah, a lawyer whose home was the site of the kidnapping, stating that the kidnapping occurred on February 3, 2022. Morteza Alamkhah, his wife, three children aged 7.5, 14.5, and 19, his wife's brother, sister, and parents-in-law were the 29-month hostages. The kidnapping team, whose names and identities have not been disclosed, consisted of two brothers and a woman, according to Fallah Miri. The prosecutor stated that one of the men had a previous history of kidnapping in Hashtgerd and had been sentenced to eight years in prison but was hiding in Rasht. The newspaper 'Jam-e Jam' reported that these individuals had kidnapped a businessman in Hashtgerd for 10-12 days. After their arrest, they were released on bail. According to the Rasht prosecutor, this woman had been visiting the Alamkhah family, who were financially well-off, for the past 12 years and participated in family religious ceremonies with her mother, which allowed her to identify all family members. The story of the kidnapping began with the invitation of Mr. Alamkhah's wife and her mother to the home of the female kidnapper. There, they were poisoned with juice and rendered unconscious. Then, in a call to Mr. Alamkhah, claiming that his mother-in-law was unwell, they lured him to the house and he fell into the trap. This ruse was repeated for his wife's siblings as well. The Rasht prosecutor stated that after several family members were rendered unconscious, the female kidnapper went to Mr. Alamkhah's house and, under the pretext of preventing COVID-19, gave the children and grandfather a pill that also rendered them unconscious, and then all family members were transferred to the kidnappers' house, officially beginning the kidnapping. Mr. Alamkhah's two-story house is located in the affluent Manzariyeh area of Rasht. Mr. Alamkhah recounted the story: 'That day, my wife called me and said she had come to the house of someone in the Yakhsaazi neighborhood of Rasht, but her mother had fallen asleep and was not waking up, and she was not feeling well either. I rushed there, we called an ambulance, but the kidnappers sent them away from the street.' The incident did not happen as simply as the prosecutor claims. According to Mr. Alamkhah, after the ambulance left, the kidnappers threatened them with knives and took their bank cards and mobile phones, threatening them with death. They were then imprisoned in a room and given sedatives either orally or through injection. This imprisonment lasted for a week. They were constantly threatened that if they made the slightest mistake, their children would be killed. At this point, the group split into two sections. The female kidnapper went to the Manzariyeh house and informed the children and grandfather that their mother and grandmother had contracted COVID-19 and that they too needed to take a strengthening pill, which was actually the sedative. This deception lasted for a week. The kidnappers, under the threat of killing the children, managed to silence them and began withdrawing money from their accounts. They withdrew 150 million tomans, claiming that 'this amount was given to some people to kill you if we released you and you took action against us.' According to Mr. Alamkhah's statements to Persian media, the female kidnapper sent text messages to her sister-in-law during this week, claiming she was caring for the children due to their COVID-19 infection, and she believed her due to their previous acquaintance. With this plan, she lured the children's aunt to the house and imprisoned her, and then it was the brother's turn. She messaged Mr. Alamkhah's sister-in-law through her phone, telling her to come after her, thus leading to the ninth hostage entering the captivity. This was when it was decided that all hostages would be transferred from the Yakhsaazi house to the Manzariyeh house. According to Mr. Alamkhah, each person's hands and feet were separately bound with straps and chains, and they were continuously given strong sedatives and hallucinogens so that they would sleep at least 17 hours a day. Their food at their own house was only lavash bread, which was given to them under the threat of knives and swords if they resisted. Their access to the bathroom and shower was also monitored. Meanwhile, the kidnappers ordered food from a restaurant. The kidnappers had covered all openings that could provide a way out or indicate from the outside that someone was inside the house. In a video released from Mr. Alamkhah's house, he shows that they had installed microphones in various parts of the house, and several of the kidnappers were concentrated elsewhere. 'Blood play' was the end of this game. Mr. Alamkhah stated that they had repeatedly requested that the kidnappers take whatever they wanted from their possessions and let them go, but their only language was threats of death. They had transferred all their possessions, including money, gold, houses, cars, office supplies, mobile phones, and anything of financial value, into their own names. According to Mr. Alamkhah, they bound everyone's hands and feet and then hung his child, and then took his wife to a notary, threatening that the slightest wrong move would lead to the death of their child, forcing her to transfer their possessions into their names. Why did no one inquire about the hostages? One of the strange aspects of this case is the lack of follow-up by neighbors, friends, and relatives, and even the schools of the children regarding this sudden absence. According to the Rasht prosecutor, this family had previously decided to emigrate, and during this time, if relatives and acquaintances contacted them, the kidnappers would threaten them and force them to declare that they were not in Iran. However, emigration cannot happen so suddenly and without anyone being informed. Mr. Alamkhah stated that the kidnappers did not open the door for those who came to the house, and at the same time, the female kidnapper knew most relatives and acquaintances and identified them through cameras, and if someone followed up again, they would message through the hostages' phones that 'we have gone to Tehran and are watching you through the online camera. Or they would send unpleasant messages stating that they did not wish to continue contact with them.' But why did the school not follow up on the absence of its two students? Mr. Alamkhah said they were not allowed to watch television, and only films containing violent acts by ISIS were shown to them through a flash drive. 'The kidnappers' legal representation was the key to our freedom.' While for 29 months, no one followed up on the status of the nine family members, or no information has been reported about these follow-ups, Mr. Alamkhah's mother-in-law died under physical and psychological torture. She was buried under the kidnappers' strict security measures and only in the presence of Mr. Alamkhah. Fallah Miri, the Rasht prosecutor, stated that during a public meeting with the judiciary, someone reported that members of a family in their neighborhood had been kidnapped for some time. It seems he had become suspicious of the comings and goings to that house. However, he did not say why his first hypothesis was kidnapping and why he reached this conclusion after 29 months. The Rasht prosecutor claimed that after this person's report, field investigations began under judicial order in less than an hour, and upon confirming the report's accuracy, the kidnappers were arrested. The story from Mr. Alamkhah's perspective is different. He said the kidnappers intended to kill them with rice pills or gas after selling and dividing the money to stage a kind of mass suicide. During this time, the kidnappers began selling possessions until they had a dispute over the sale of three cars, which even led to a fight. The site 'Rokna' reported that one of the kidnappers complained about another accomplice, and in the meantime, he asked Mr. Alamkhah to accept his legal representation for this case. On the day he was present at the prosecutor's office to follow up on the complaint with his kidnappers, he took advantage of their negligence and provided information about his situation. He did not specify what information he provided or how long it took for them to be freed, but this marked the beginning of their release. This family was freed on July 9, 2024. This is likely the longest kidnapping in history that occurred in silence and ended, with information being released months later. Mr. Alamkhah seems to have been prohibited from announcing the news by the judiciary to allow for the arrest of other members. However, a few days ago, when the news was published, the Rasht prosecutor confirmed it and credited the police and judiciary for the hostages' release. Despite the published information, many ambiguities remain. Why was the children's absence from school in the middle of the year not questioned, and why did school officials not follow up? Mr. Alamkhah also stated, 'If the school had informed the Ministry of Education and then this matter had been pursued through judicial authorities, we would have been rescued in the first month. There should be a mandatory requirement to report the sudden disappearance of children from schools to the Ministry of Education and then to judicial authorities.' After their release, he went to one of his children's schools and explained the kidnapping, but they stated that the student's name had been removed from the educational system and that if he wanted the academic file, he would have to pay seven million tomans for settlement and also pay fines for the two and a half years. According to Mr. Alamkhah, 6-7 people have been arrested so far, and all have confessed to their charges and requested forgiveness. The Rasht prosecutor has not even announced the number of those arrested.