60 Minutes: Beirut judge denies kidnap team bail

The architect of the 60 Minutes kidnap plot, Adam Whittington, and his three associates, were formally refused bail last night.

The architect of the 60 Minutes kidnap plot, Adam Whittington, and his three associates were formally refused bail last night and now face an uncertain period of confinement in one of Lebanon’s most dangerous jails.

Prosecuting judge Rami Abdullah said from the Baabda Palace of Justice that the bail was rejected and repeated the seriousness of the charges faced by all involved. “This is a kidnapping, it is serious,’’ he said.

Mr Whittington and his crew were transferred to a military detention­ centre in Lebanon’s north last week when it became apparent that any imminent releas­e on bail would be stymied by the repeated objections of Ali Elamine, the father of the two children snatched off a southern Beirut street last month.

But it has emerged that the man shown on the video snatching Lahela, 5, and Noah, 3, and pushing Mr Elamine’s mother, Ibtissma Berri, is mystery Romanian operative Scurtu Ianut Bogdan, who remains at large.

The bail rejection is not good news for the men or the 60 Minutes team of Tara Brown, David Ballment, Ben Williamson and Stephen Rice, who are waiting for the prosecutor to announc­e the formal state charges for their role in the April 6 abduc­tion.

If Mr Elamine had come to a deal and allowed Mr Whittington and his crew to be released on bail — similar to the $US500,000 settlement with the Nine Network three weeks ago — the prosecutor would have some leeway to reduce the severity of the government charges.

But the most recent strident position of Mr Elamine, who has refused to allow his estranged wife Sally Faulkner to talk to the children on Skype, and his fierce objection to the bail, means any state charges are likely to include kidnapping and assault, which carry lengthy jail terms. Judge Abdullah said those charges may be announced on Monday.

Mr Whittington and his assoc­iates, tattooist Craig Mich­ael, Lebanese taxi driver Khaled Barbour and Lebanese “fixer” Mohammed Hamza, are now in Ebbe prison, near the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli. Ebbe, also known as Qorebbe or Kobbeh, is feared for its overcrowded conditions and lack of food.

Sahar Mohsen, Mr Hamza’s lawyer, said the decis­ion was “an injustice’’ and noted many of the jail’s detainees were terrorists associate­d with the Syrian war.