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‘I thought I was done for’ Jewish survivor of botched kidnapping in Wales speaks to the JC of his harrowing ordeal and escape

Itay Kashti was lured to a remote rented cottage in west Wales in August on the pretence of a music collaboration opportunity

March 16, 2025 13:52
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Mohammad Comrie, Faiz Shah and Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime were sentenced to more than 20 years between them (South Wales Police)
5 min read

The Jewish victim who was lured to a remote house in Wales by three men whereupon he was beaten and handcuffed to a radiator, has spoken to the JC about his traumatic ordeal and escape.

Stumbling half-blind out of the cottage into an unfamiliar countryside, Itay Kashti, 45, said he “looked like Stallone from Rocky. My left eye was completely shut, couldn’t open it. My right eye, squinting, could just about see.”

His contact lenses had been knocked out after he had been  hit “quite hard several times” in the head.

“And I had weird pain in my knees and legs, which made it hard to walk,” he said. “I was in survival instinct mode, limping through the fields and bushes with my guitar and phone. It must have looked odd.”