Mozambique: Kidnapped Portuguese woman released

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Mozambique: Kidnapped Portuguese woman released

12:57 CAT | 13 Nov 2020

The 27-year-old Portuguese woman kidnapped on Monday in Matola, on the outskirts of Maputo, was released by her kidnappers on Thursday night, a source close to her family told Lusa.

Jessica Pequeno was handed over to her family, “she is still in shock,” but shows no signs of physical abuse, added the source.

Contacted by Lusa, a source from the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic), said clarifications on the case would be given later.

The victim is the daughter of a couple who own the Burako da Velha restaurant, a family business of Portuguese Dina Pequeno and Alberto Beto – where Jessica and her husband Marco, a pastry chef, also work.

The victim was intercepted on Monday morning on one of her daily journeys between home, work and her son’s nanny’s house, all in the city of Matola, the large suburb next to the Mozambican capital.

Since the beginning of 2020, the Mozambican authorities have recorded a total of 10 kidnappings, the victims of which are businessmen or their families.

In October, a group of businessmen in the city of Beira, province of Sofala, central Mozambique, stopped their activities for three days in protest against the wave of kidnappings in the country.

The Confederation of Mozambique’s Economic Associations (CTA), the country’s largest employers’ association, has also demanded on several occasions a severe fight against this type of crime, and even the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, has called for more measures.