Guildford: Kodar Faytrouni and accomplice Abud Elkerdi sentenced over kidnapping of Younis Younis

The man who spearheaded the kidnapping and assault of his brother-in-law in an attempt to force him to divorce his wife has been sentenced to jail. See how long he got and whether his co-accused got off.

A man described as “the architect” behind the kidnapping of his brother-in-law in Sydney’s west was sentenced to four years in prison, while his co-accused escaped jail.

Kodar Faytrouni, 29, and his co-offender Abud Elkerdi, 39, faced the Sydney District Court on Tuesday for sentence over the wild kidnapping of Younis Younis in January 2023.

They had both previously pleaded guilty to charges of taking or detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage and common assault.

Faytrouni had recruited Elkerdi, Safwan Hussein and Ali Hamad to drive 900km from Melbourne to Guildford and kidnap Mr Younis who Faytrouni believed was only married to his sister as a ploy to secure a visa so he could stay in the country.

They took Mr Younis from his home, before driving him to a home on Guildford Rd, placed him in a headlock and yelled at him in Arabic while the shocking crime was filmed on Hamad’s phone.

Kidnapper Kodar Faytrouni has been sentenced to jail.

The nightmarish ordeal only ended when the group was busted by police at Chetwynd Rd, Guildford.

The court heard on Tuesday how Faytrouni demanded Mr Younis divorce his wife Hanadi over the phone because they married under an Islamic contract without telling the family.

Kidnapper Abud Elkerdi managed to avoid jail time.

“Okay, I will tell her we are divorced,” Mr Younis said during the ordeal.

In handing down his judgement, Judge Stephen Hanley stated out of the four offenders, Faytrouni was the “the architect”.

“He was primarily involved in removing the victim from his home, continually assaulting the victim,” Mr Hanley said.

“Kodar appears to have had no difficulty in recruiting his co-offenders.”

Mr Hanley also stated the motivation for Faytrouni to kidnap Mr Younis was “directed by his parents”.

Elkerdi outside Sydney District Court after sentencing submissions.

Faytrouni’s father Imad pleaded not guilty to taking or detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage and is due to stand trial.

Faytrouni was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment with a non-parole period of two years.

Mr Hanley said Elkerdi “was less involved” in the kidnapping and assault of Mr Younis.

The court also heard Elkerdi fell into the “moderate range of mental disability”.

“The offender has a prior criminal history in Victoria,” Mr Hanley said.

“He’s never received a term of imprisonment before.”

Due to his mental disabilities and low cognitive functions, Mr Hanley agreed Elkerdi would be a “vulnerable person” in custody.

Elkerdi was convicted and sentenced to an intensive corrections order to be served in the community for two years, two months and three days.

Hamad pleaded guilty to charges of taking or detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage and take in company with intent to gain advantage occasioning actual bodily harm. He was convicted and sentenced to two intensive corrections orders and must perform 150 hours community service.

Hussein pleaded guilty to charges of common assault and taking or detaining a person in company with intent to obtain advantage. He was convicted and sentenced to an intensive correction order to be served in the community for three years.