Social media in Algeria has been buzzing about a young man from the Wilaya of Djelfa who disappeared in 1996 and was found in a tragic state in his neighbor's shed. According to reports from Djelfa, the young man, Ben Imran Omar, was discovered last night, Tuesday, in a pit covered with hay inside his neighbor’s house in the municipality of Qadid. He was kidnapped in 1996 when he was only 16 years old.
Khaled Rekab, a cousin of the victim, posted on "Facebook": "Thank God, my cousin Ben Imran Omar has been found in good health after a 26-year disappearance, awaiting details about the case and investigations," adding that the dog visible in the picture was found dead, poisoned, or hanged because it would not stop barking at the neighbor's door where its owner was held.
A shocking video of the moment the victim was found in a grave-like pit covered with hay circulated, indicating he had been held there for many years since his disappearance in the 1990s. Activists stated he appeared to be in shock and could not speak.
Comments from activists flooded in, questioning the young man’s long absence, regarding the incident as strange and almost unbelievable.
In response, the Djelfa Court Council issued a statement about the incident, saying: "On May 12, 2024, the regional national gendarmerie service in Qadid received a complaint from an individual named 'B.L' against someone, based on slanderous claims on social media that the complainant's brother, 'B.A,' missing for 30 years, was located in their neighbor’s house, named 'A.B,' in the municipality of Qadid, inside a sheepfold."
The statement continued: "The public prosecutor in the Idrissia court ordered the gendarmerie to conduct a thorough investigation, and the judicial police went to the mentioned house where they indeed found the missing person 'B.A' and arrested the 61-year-old suspected owner of the dwelling."
It concluded: "The public prosecution instructed the relevant authorities to provide medical and psychological care to the victim and to present the suspect before the public prosecution upon the conclusion of the investigation."
