Egyptian Kidnapper Threatens to Kill Two American Hostages If Arrested - East Idaho News
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Egyptian Kidnapper Threatens to Kill Two American Hostages If Arrested

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abc gma egypt3 michel louis jt 120715 wg1?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1342369023292ABC News (NEW YORK) — A Bedouin tribesman is threatening to kill two Americans he kidnapped Friday in Egypt’s Sinai Desert if he’s arrested.

Jirmy Abu-Masuh, 32, of the Tarbeen tribe, said in an interview that the Americans are being treated well — they’ve been given tea and a traditional Bedouin meal of lamb — but they won’t be released until his uncle, who is in an Egyptian prison, is released as well. His uncle was taken into custody for refusing to pay 100 dollars in a bribe to police officers at a check point.

Abu-Masuh warned Saturday that if the authorities try to arrest him, he will kill the hostages, and if his uncle is not released, he will abduct more people and treat the Americans as prisoners, which could mean leaving them out in the desert.

The two Americans who were kidnapped at gunpoint Friday are 61-year-old Michel Louis, the pastor of the Free Pentecostal Church of God in Dorchester, Mass., and 39-year-old Lisa Alphonse. Louis’ son said his father has diabetes and may require medical attention soon.

They were captured in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, on the road to Mount Sinai, where Moses is said to have received the 10 commandments.

This standoff was underway as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was in Egypt to meet with Egypt’s new Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, elected after the Arab Spring.

The revolution has left the Egyptian military with no control over large areas of the country, allowing these kidnappings to take place.

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