KUALA LUMPUR – Two men were charged on Wednesday with the abduction in Malaysia of a Palestinian last month, adding to the 11 persons who were charged earlier this month, Bernama news agency reported on Wednesday.
No plea was recorded from Mohd Zaidi Mohd Zain, 54, and Tengku Hazarul Ismail Tengku Hamid, 49, in the Magistrate’s Court.
Media reports had said that the Palestinian, Omar ZM Albelbaisy Raeda, 31, was allegedly kidnapped by a group of people working for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad to obtain information on software used to hack mobile phones.
The Malaysian-based Mr Raeda was rescued by Malaysian police at a remote chalet where he was being interrogated.
The two men were charged with the abduction in Jalan Mayang, a road close to the Petronas Twin Towers, at 10.40pm on Sept 28, Bernama reported.
If found guilty, those convicted face the death penalty or life imprisonment, and are also liable with whipping.
The two men were not allowed bail and the court set Dec 15 for mention, the news agency said.
Following the rescue of Mr Raeda, Malaysian police had arrested 18 individuals in follow up operations in Selangor and Melaka states from Sept 29 to Oct 4.
This was not the first time a criminal incident has happened in Malaysia involving a Palestinian. In 2018, Gaza-born electrical engineer Fadi Mohammed al-Batsh, who was a member of Hamas, was gunned down by two motorcyclists in Kuala Lumpur.
It was widely held that he was killed by the Israeli secret service.
