Ankara (AsiaNews) – Syriac Orthodox priest, Edip Daniel Savci (see photo), regained his freedom today in Turkey after being abducted two days ago on his way from Mor Yakup monastery to a parish church in a village near Midyat.
The announcement that the cleric was free came from the governor of Mardin province Mehmet Kiliclar, who was quoted in the Anadolou news agency.
The priest was released in Batman, capital of the homonymous province which borders Mardin, home to most of Turkey’s 25,000-strong Syriac Orthodox Christian community.
Kidnappers had demanded € 300,000 (US$ 445,000) for the cleric's return, but the money was not apparently paid because Turkish security forces were fast on the heels of both abductors and abductee.
It is not clear though whether he was freed as a result of their direct intervention or because his captors let him go when they saw police close in.