Finland demands immediate release of hostage

Press release 132/2017
31 July 2017

A video has been released in social media related to the kidnapping of a Finnish national in Kabul on 20 May 2017.

"We condemn the kidnapping as well as all blackmail and cruelty associated with it. We demand the immediate release of the hostage," states Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

The Finnish authorities request that no material related to the kidnapping be disseminated, because all publicity endangers the life of the kidnapped person and complicates efforts to free her. The authorities are doing every effort to ensure that the kidnapped person be safely released.

The safety and privacy of the kidnapped person as well as the efforts to free her demand that no details of the case be published. This applies both to persons, events and the authorities’ investigations into the matter.

The family of the kidnapped person wish to be left in privacy. Communications on the kidnapping case are handled by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Inquiries: Media Coordination, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 40 551 6571