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BEIRUT — During the night of July 17-18 in the Lebanese Bekaa Valley, a kidnapping took place that has turned into a strange, suspense-filled drama with international dimensions involving Beirut, Washington, Prague and Kiev.
On the night of July 17, five Czechs — Jan Svarc, Adam Homsi, Miroslav Dobes, Merlin Pesek and Pavel Kofron — arrived at Beirut's international airport, where a vehicle was waiting to pick them up. A couple of hours later, the van was found on the side of the road in Kefraya, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Beirut in the Bekaa Valley. Their passports, papers and other personal belongings had been left in the car, but there were no other traces of the men or their possible whereabouts.
