Guildford: Kidnappers Ali Hamad, Safwan Hussein to be sentenced after kidnapping man over marriage dispute

One of the four kidnappers who travelled 900km to Sydney to demand a man get a divorce has labelled himself a “disgusting animal” after the brief but violent ordeal.

One of four kidnappers who travelled 900km to Sydney to demand a man get a divorce has labelled himself a “disgusting animal”.

A Sydney court also heard that two of the four men who kidnapped the terrified husband were motivated by outdated “cultural beliefs” and to “make up the numbers”.

Sporting basketball shorts and a singlet as he entered Sydney District Court on Monday, Safwan Hussein faced a sentence hearing along with his nephew Ali Hamad.

They joined Kodar Faytrouni and Abud Elkerdi when they travelled from Melbourne to Guildford in Sydney’s west on January 11, 2023, to capture then 25-year-old Younis Younis – Faytrouni’s brother in law.

Faytrouni orchestrated the brazen crime because he believed Mr Younis only married his sister to secure a visa to live in Australia.

The group kidnapped the victim after they broke into his mother’s house on Guildford Rd, assaulted him in a BMW and at a nearby property, and demanded he divorce his wife before they were arrested after two hours when police intercepted the car.

Safwan Hussein pleaded guilty to kidnapping. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

The court heard Hussein, who later changed into a blazer and longer tracksuit pants before appearing in front of the judge, had a “misguided loyalty” to Faytrouni and his father.

Barrister AJ Karim read a letter of apology from the “deeply sorry” Hussein, 42, who revealed he was “caught up in my old cultural beliefs” when he committed the wild kidnapping.

Hussein at a court appearance in February.

Safwan Hussein places the victim in a headlock.

“I thought I was being loyal, how wrong I was,’’ he wrote.

“I even saw myself as the victim … what I did was wrong, worse than wrong. It was cruel. “When I look at the video all I can do is shake my head in shame. I was a disgusting animal on that day.’’

Mr Karim told the court Hussein had no intention to harm the victim.

“The motive quite clearly is misguided loyalty,’’ he said.

Ali Hamad greets one of his lawyers before court. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Hamad relaxes before his court appearance. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

However, Crown prosecutor Daniel Boyle rejected the letter of apology saying he was proactive in the kidnapping and was motivated to execute the crime because he was “disgusted by the victim’s actions” after he brought “dishonour” to Faytrouni’s family.

He said he “really had no empathy’’ for what the victim suffered but instead was worried about the stress his own family endured for two years.

The court also heard that Hamad did not know the victim but was “asked to come” to “make up the numbers’’.

The four men each pleaded guilty to charges of taking or detaining a person in company.

Judge Stephen Hanley reserved judgment for April 2.

A fifth man, Imad Fatrouni, is fighting charges of taking or detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage and is due to stand trial in April.