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Two Czech women kidnapped in Pakistan freed

Xinhua, March 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka confirmed on Saturday that the two young Czech women who were kidnapped in Pakistan in 2013 have returned to the Czech Republic in the morning.

Sobotka requested the media to respect the privacy for Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka, both 26-year-old. He wished both of them a quick recovery and return to everyday peaceful life.

Sobotka said that the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) Turkish charity organisation had mediated the release of the two women.

According to Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, the Czech state neither negotiated with terrorists nor paid ransom.

Czech President Milos Zeman also expressed his appreciation to the IHH humanitarian organisation, his spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said the president has been informed about the two women's release and he is very happy to hear the news.

The two Czech women were kidnapped in the southwestern province Baluchistan by a group of gunmen on March 13, 2013. They arrived from the neighbouring Iran as tourists and were heading for India. They said they knew nothing about the kidnappers. Two videos appeared on Facebook on June 26 and on October 30, 2014 showing they were kidnapped.

Before the kidnapping, both women studied at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. Endit