There has been a new update in the case of the Algerian man who was held captive in his neighbour’s basement for 26 years.
Omar bin Omran vanished from his family home in Djelfa, Algeria, at the age of 17.
Having searched for him across the country, Omran’s family lost hope and accepted the idea that he had most likely been killed during the Algerian Civil War (1992-2002).
Omar Bin Omran was missing for 27 years. (EnnaharTv)
However, the truth was much closer to home.
Last week (12 May), the sister of the neighbour, who was reportedly going through an inheritance dispute, hinted at his whereabouts in a social media post.
Local police were quick to obtain a search warrant as they raided the neighbour’s home the next day.
Omran was found in his neighbour’s house less than 200 metres away from his family’s property.
“They found him in a stable, where the suspect keeps his sheep, [the cellar trapdoor] covered in hay, and he was thankfully saved,” his cousin Khaled Rgueb said.
Public prosecutors in Djelfa said in a statement last week: “The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8pm local time it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61.”
In an update issued by Algeria’s Judicial Council, it appears that eight people have now been charged for the crime.
Omran is said to be in ‘good shape’ and receiving treatment. (X)
Six suspects have been detained while two others have been placed under judicial supervision.
“A judicial investigation has been opened against the main suspect for the crime of kidnapping and luring a person, detaining a person without an order from the competent authorities and outside the cases permitted by the law, as well as human trafficking of a victim in a status of vulnerability,” the council said.
The two suspects under judicial supervision are allowed to remain free, while facing trial.
Omran’s mother died in 2013 without knowing the truth of what happened to her son.
Officials say that the ‘perpetrator of this heinous crime’, who worked as a civil servant, will be tried with ‘severity.’
Featured Image Credit: EnnaharTv/X
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