Man indicted for kidnapping, torturing victim with burning poker over debt

A man from the northern town of Daburiyya was indicted on allegations that he kidnapped a man from a pizzeria in Afula and tortured him with a hot poker at a B&B, the Northern District Prosecutor’s Office said on Monday.

Prosecutors filed charges against Muhammad Zoabi, 25, on counts of kidnapping for extortion, aggravated injury, extortion by threats and force, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault. They requested that he remain in custody until the end of the proceedings.

According to the indictment, the accused kidnapped and tortured the victim over a debt. It noted that Zoabi and his accomplice had threatened the complainant on several occasions with harm if he did not pay them.

The victim was at a pizzeria in Afula on December 12 when Zoabi and a second man approached him and convinced him to enter their vehicle, the investigation found.

The kidnappers took the victim’s phone and drove him to a cabin in the area, where he was held against his will for hours and beaten repeatedly.

The alleged kidnappers were accused of placing an iron poker in the fireplace and telling the victim, “I’m heating the rod. Start thinking how to settle this now,” then burning him with it.

Later, the indictment claimed, Zoabi pressed an object resembling a gun to the victim’s head and told him, “What would you prefer, bring the money or die now?”

Eventually, the victim asked Zoabi for his phone back, telling him that he “just wanted to browse.” When Zoabi handed it to him, he was able to send a message to his wife, who called the police and reported him missing.

Police were eventually able to locate the victim, who had bruises and burns all over his body. He said that the kidnappers had seen police approach and fled.

Zoabi was arrested on January 25 following a monthlong manhunt. The second suspect remains at large.