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Jakarta –
French authorities have arrested five individuals suspected of kidnapping a judge and her mother. The pair were held hostage for approximately 30 hours, during which the kidnappers threatened to mutilate them.
“The arrests of four men and one woman followed the revelation on Friday of the 35-year-old judge and her 67-year-old mother, found injured in a garage in the Drome department in southeastern France,” the Lyon prosecutor’s office stated, according to Reuters, Monday (February 8, 2026).
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during a press conference held on Friday, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran revealed that the judge and her mother, who were not at home when the kidnapping occurred on Wednesday night into Thursday, held key positions in a cryptocurrency startup.
A large-scale police search involving 160 officers was launched after the kidnappers sent messages and photos of the judge to authorities, demanding a ransom payable in cryptocurrency
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