Russia's presidential hopeful Ivan Rybkin, who mysteriously disappeared for five days, said Friday that he was drugged, kidnapped and kept unconscious by captors who had lured him to Ukraine.
Rybkin, who said the incident involved a murky attempt involving a video tape to "compromise" him, also announced he would not withdraw from the March 14 Russian elections and told a London press conference he would conduct his campaign from Western Europe.
Rybkin said that he had gone to Ukraine on the understanding that he would be meeting Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov for peace negotiations.
On arrival in Kiev on February 6, Rybkin said he was driven to an apartment where he was told to wait for Maskhadov.
"I had some tea and some sandwiches and suddenly I felt very drowsy," Rybkin said through a Russian interpreter.
"I woke up in yet another totally unfamiliar apartment after an uncertain time," said Rybkin, who apologized to his audience for sounding emotional.
Rybkin said he had been unconscious for four days and regained consciousness on February 10, when he was told to telephone family or friends in Moscow to say he had taken a short break in Kiev.
He said his captors then "showed me a revolting video tape with my participation and they told me it was a plan to compromise me and force me to be cooperative."
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/040213/1/3i07u.html
Best defense an offense, or the truth?
Kind of hard to believe he would go unescorted to meet with terrorists.
Rybkin, who said the incident involved a murky attempt involving a video tape to "compromise" him, also announced he would not withdraw from the March 14 Russian elections and told a London press conference he would conduct his campaign from Western Europe.
Rybkin said that he had gone to Ukraine on the understanding that he would be meeting Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov for peace negotiations.
On arrival in Kiev on February 6, Rybkin said he was driven to an apartment where he was told to wait for Maskhadov.
"I had some tea and some sandwiches and suddenly I felt very drowsy," Rybkin said through a Russian interpreter.
"I woke up in yet another totally unfamiliar apartment after an uncertain time," said Rybkin, who apologized to his audience for sounding emotional.
Rybkin said he had been unconscious for four days and regained consciousness on February 10, when he was told to telephone family or friends in Moscow to say he had taken a short break in Kiev.
He said his captors then "showed me a revolting video tape with my participation and they told me it was a plan to compromise me and force me to be cooperative."
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/040213/1/3i07u.html
Best defense an offense, or the truth?
Kind of hard to believe he would go unescorted to meet with terrorists.