YouTuber ‘YourFellowArab’ has released the first footage from his time being held hostage by a Haitian gang after being released from custody for no ransom in late March.
The gang demanded a $600,000 ransom for his release, sparking panic among the influencer’s fans, who worried for his safety amidst the dangerous conditions in Haiti as the country is wracked by gang violence.
After 17 days, the streamer wasreleased for no ransom,claiming he was “kidnapped purely for the color of my skin” and held “in the middle of a Haitian desert 60 minutes away from any civilization in a concrete shack surrounded by barbed wire.”
On April 8, the YouTuberreleased footagetaken from his time in custody for the very first time, revealing the harrowing conditions in which he was kept.
The video shows that he was imprisoned in a concrete building, surrounded by guard dogs in a compound miles away from any other settlement in an area called ‘Croix des Bouquets.’
Arab claims that he was led into the jungle by a group of “corrupt” border guards and UN employees with the goal of interviewing Barbeque, one ofHaiti’s most powerful gang leaderswho currently controls much of Port-au-Prince and demanded the resignation of the country’s president, whostepped down in March.
However, he claims he was “set up” by BSAP officers and “ambushed” by the 400 Mawazo gang and locked in a trailer “at gunpoint” before being driven out into the desert by the gang’s leader, Lanmò Sanjou.
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The video included a snippet of the YouTuber’s conversation with Sanjou, where he demanded the $600,000 ransom.
The upload is a trailer for a longer documentary series slated to be released “soon,” showing how Arab “befriended” Sanjouto secure his freedom.
Virginia Glaze is Dexerto’s Entertainment Editor in the US. She expertly covers trending stories across Twitch, Kick, YouTube, and TikTok – as well as fighting games and influencer boxing. Virginia also has bylines at Red Bull, GINX, and Bandai Namco. Contact her here: virginia.glaze@dexerto.com
