Police arrest 4 suspected of kidnapping sister from battered women’s shelter
Victim moved into group home after repeated instances of domestic violence at hands of relatives, who did not approve of recent divorce or of her way of life
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Police arrested four people on Tuesday evening on suspicion they kidnapped their sister from a battered women’s shelter in northern Israel.
The 27-year-old from the Galilee area had moved into the shelter after suffering repeated instances of domestic violence at the hands of her brothers, who did not approve of her recent divorce, her way of life or her decision to move into a shelter for battered women, the Haaretz daily reported.
Earlier Tuesday, the woman left the group home with two other residents to visit a medical clinic. On the way, she notified a relative that she had left the shelter, the report said.
Before reaching the clinic, the victim stopped at a grocery store where her brothers spotted her and shoved her into the back of a van. The suspects were armed with a rifle and Airsoft weapons, police said.
One of the women who left the shelter with the victim managed to take a picture of the license plate of one of the two cars used by the suspects in the kidnapping. She sent it to the shelter, whose management called police.
A large number of officers were dispatched to the area, and a car chase ensued after the vehicles were spotted, law enforcement said in a statement.
Police cars managed to corner the suspects’ two vehicles at the Tur’an Interchange northeast of Nazareth and pulled the victim out of one of the cars. She was crying and distraught but had not suffered any physical injuries, though her brothers are reportedly suspected of planning to assault her.
The Times of Israel Community.