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Israeli music producer Itay Kashti, who resides in Britain, fell victim to a dramatic kidnapping attempt in Wales. In an interview with Ynet, he recounts how he narrowly escaped his captors at the last moment.
It all began in August when Kashti, a music producer with an active studio, received what appeared to be a professional inquiry. "I got an email from someone claiming to represent a major record label," Kashti recalls. "It sounded legitimate, so we arranged a meeting in Wales."
Kashti did not suspect anything was amiss. "When we arrived at the location, it looked like a standard guesthouse. At first, it seemed nice, but then the suspicious signs began to appear." According to him, within seconds of entering the premises, three armed men stormed in and attacked him and the taxi driver who had brought him there. "They put a bag over my head and tied me up," he remembers. "I was in shock and didn’t understand what was happening."
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The taxi driver was struck in the face but managed to escape, while Kashti was subdued by his attackers with kicks and blows. He was tied to a radiator but managed to exploit a moment of inattention from his captors to free himself.
"They weren’t skilled enough. When one of them moved away, I managed to free myself from the restraints, get up and run outside," he recounts. After escaping, Kashti hid in some bushes and called his wife and the police. The three kidnappers were later apprehended by police that same day as they tried to hide in a nearby field.
British police launched an investigation and filed charges against the kidnappers. Initially, the motive for the incident was unclear, but it was later revealed that the kidnappers were British citizens of Muslim descent: Mohammad Comrie, 23, from Leeds, Faiz Shah, 23, from Bradford, and Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime, 20, from Wallington, London. "They weren’t wearing keffiyehs or anything like that. These are ordinary British citizens," Kashti explains. The court sentenced the three to eight years in prison.
Although they did not explicitly clarify their motives, the judge determined that the act had both financial and nationalist motives. "Mr. Kashti was targeted because of his Jewish background," the judge in Swansea court stated. "The kidnappers were inspired by events occurring elsewhere in the world." Kashti is also convinced that the act had nationalist motives. "They talked about Allah during their conversations. I can’t say if it was 90% nationalist or 30%, but it was there."
"In those moments, I didn’t know if I would make it out alive," he admits. "You just try to survive." Today, the kidnappers are behind bars, but for Kashti the experience left a deep mark. "What matters is that I’m here, and they’re there," he says.
The incident has raised many concerns among the Israeli community in Britain regarding their personal safety. "This could happen to anyone," he concludes. "The world has become a dangerous place, even when all you want to do is create music."