Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Friday that he will reveal all the details of the investigation into the case of the seven Estonians once it is over.
“We have all the information, but we are waiting until the investigation is over. We [will] not disclose anything now to preserve the investigation’s confidentiality,” he told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio.
The seven men, in their 30s and early 40s, were freed on Thursday morning after kidnap ordeal of almost four months. They were abducted at gunpoint on March 23 while on a cycling holiday in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, after arriving from neighboring Syria.
According to a police official in Lebanon the Estonians were released in the Bekaa Valley town of Sahel al-Taybi. However, Charbel told VOL that the tourists were not held in Sahel al-Taybi.
The Estonians, who were in charge of carrying out the operation on Thursday, were coordinating with the Lebanese authorities, added the interior minister.
However, he said that upon the kidnappers’ request, Lebanese authorities did not approach the area where the cyclists were released.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet arrived in Beirut on Thursday evening and accompanied the released tourists home.
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