Johannesburg - A family member of a South African couple who were freed from Somali pirates on Thursday denied that ransom had been paid for their release, contradicting an earlier statement by another family member.
Nora Wright, the sister of one of the hostages, Bruno Pelizzari, said $500 000 in ransom had been agreed on with the pirates two weeks ago, but she was unaware of any money being paid to secure their release.
“An amount was agreed to and everything happened very fast. I can't confirm whether ransom was paid,” said Wright, who said she is one of the three signatories to the bank account set up by the family to raise the demanded ransom.
Two signatures are required for any funds to be released, and Wright said she and a second signatory have not signed off on any payments. The third signatory has departed for Rome.
“I have not signed for any amount to be paid,” Wright told AFP.
Pelizzari and his partner Debbie Calitz were sailing in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya in 2010 when their yacht was hijacked by 12 pirates who set course for Somalia and took the couple ashore at Baraawe.
Somali authorities said a joint raid by security forces and the army had led to the freeing of the couple from “al-Qaeda-affiliated” insurgents.
South Africa said Italy was also heavily involved in the operation.
Earlier, another relative - Dora Hunt - emotionally told the eNews channel: “We definitely paid something for their release.”
South Africa has denied payment of ransom. - Sapa-AFP