Topics: Crime, True Crime, World News, News, Life, Real Life, True Life
After being freed by a rescue team last year following almost three decades of captivity, Omar bin Omran made a harrowing admission.
The Algerian local first hit headlines in the late 1990s when, at age 17, his family reported him missing in the midst of the country's civil war.
During the 10-year war - which was sparked by military protests against the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) taking power following the group's victory during the first round of 1991 parliamentary elections - thousands of citizens were kidnapped or killed.
As such, Omran's family feared the worst. He was last seen at his home in Djelfa, 27 years before being found by police just 200 yards away.
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According to local reports, in May 2024, police received a 'tip-off' from another resident of the town, who claimed on social media that his own brother - one of Omran's neighbours - had been keeping the teenager hostage.
The claim is understood to have been made in response to a family inheritance dispute.
Though police didn't expect to find Omran in the neighbour's property, he was eventually discovered inside a hay-covered cellar underneath the building - a stone's throw away from his family home.
Footage was later aired on Algerian television networks showing Omran, now 45, being rescued.
In the heartbreaking clip, the man, sporting a full beard and a grubby sweater, can be seen blinking rapidly as light is shone onto his face.
Asked why he never called for help, Omran is understood to have told the authorities it was 'because of a spell that his captor had cast on him'.
The man's alleged kidnapper is a 61-year-old doorman from the nearby town of El Guedid, who attempted to flee the scene after police raided his house before being arrested.
Djelfa public prosecutors said in a statement at the time, as per The Sun: "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 neighbor, B.A., aged 61."
A court official also added: "Following this report, the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation, and officers went to the house in question.
"The missing person was found, and the suspect, the 61-year-old owner of the house, was arrested.
"The Public Prosecutor's Office ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment, and the suspect will be presented to the Public Prosecutor's Office immediately after the completion of the investigation."
