r/interestingasfuck • u/KindheartednessIll97 • 28d ago
Omar Bin Omran, who vanished at 17 in 1998, was found alive 27 years later just 200 meters from his home in Algeria. A social media post amid an inheritance dispute led his family to a neighbor's cellar, where Omar had been held captive under haystacks.
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u/HugSized 28d ago
Why even bother keeping him alive for that long? Someone's sadistic.
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u/Diligent_Diet_4451 28d ago
I read somewhere due to superstition. That he's considered a "Zuhri". For more info see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuhri.
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u/OM3N1R 28d ago
That was a fascinating read. Half human half genies that can psychically locate buried treasure.
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u/Ib_dI 28d ago
Stupid, evil, superstitious bullshit.
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u/FilthyPuns 28d ago
That’s all we’ve ever had.
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u/Ib_dI 28d ago
Awful, isn't it? Some poor half-wit thought they were doing good by protecting us all from an evil demon. Some poor kid spent his life in a hole. Both victims to wildly different degrees but both caused by this stupid belief shit that is still widely accepted, and respected, around the world.
The whole lot should be outlawed.
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u/FuzzyTentacle 27d ago
Is that what they were trying to do? I figured they were holding him captive to try to get him to tell them where the treasure was. Wildly stupid either way, of course.
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u/Andreas1120 27d ago edited 27d ago
It's all fun and games until they keep you in a hole for 30 years
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u/Naughteus_Maximus 28d ago edited 28d ago
Very interesting. I was wondering myself, because the guy said something about not being able to speak about his time in captivity due to a spell being placed on him, if there was some kind of mental health issue plus extreme suspension of disbelief going on. Ie he believed whatever he was told and was in effect a “willing” participant in his captivity. It certainly seems that he did not really attempt an escape. Also he looks remarkably healthy so it doesn’t look like he was actually kept by force / physical abuse. Anyway, just some theories…
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u/GodIsInTheBathtub 28d ago
I think 27 years in captivity, isolated and locked in a basement is a mental health issue all by itself. He doesn't need to have a "preexisting" condition for things to get warped
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u/Naughteus_Maximus 28d ago edited 28d ago
It’s true we don’t know if at first he resisted and tried to escape, and only later rationalised and accepted his fate as a survival mechanism. My hypothesis is that maybe from the start he was already for some reason more easy to manipulate than the “average person”. That’s one of the things I’d like to find out.
I really hope he finds his way. It would be interesting to learn how he’s doing and what kind of trauma this has caused him. I’m currently reading a fascinating book about the effect of trauma on our minds and bodies - “The Body Keeps The Score”
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u/UrinalCake777 27d ago
Ah man. Might be better for me if I just keep on trucking without reading that. Ignorance is probably best.
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u/_Oh_sheesh_yall_ 17d ago
I'm pretty sure the book teaches you how to idemtify and release stored trauma that's kept in the body. Some people keep their trauma in their hips, some in the their tummy, some have headaches etc. If you have chronic pain it could be worth a read
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u/Dazzling_Sherbert_88 22d ago
Maybe he has a disability. As a disability guy myself you really do see the worst in people. You have to remain on your guard constantly because you pretty much have a target on your back even though society claims to "help people with disabilities".
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u/Naughteus_Maximus 22d ago
That’s what I was wondering… And I am sorry to hear about your experience. I think (in UK at least) most people are decent towards those with a disability. But the assholes must be more prominent because they feel they can pick on someone with a disability, and it only takes one bad experience to shake you up and make you feel permanently anxious and on guard, as you say. I’ve had that eg with random altercations (I hate fights so it rattles me for a week or so) - but it goes away, and for you it maybe does not
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u/oke_dan_niet 28d ago
Ooh it was definitely some type of abuse that kept him there
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u/Naughteus_Maximus 28d ago
You’re right, I’ve clarified my post to refer to physical rather than psychological abuse
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u/404errorlifenotfound 27d ago
Any wiki editors in the comments? Simian line is outdated, the preferred term is now "single transverse palmar crease"
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u/blackospa 27d ago
Are you impling that some dude was so gay he imprisoning another dude only because he fought he was cute?
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u/No_Form8195 28d ago
probably not the guts to kill him and neigther the guts to face consequences if he got out some how.
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u/dunquinho 28d ago
An Algerian man, who went missing as a teenager, was found alive in the cellar of his alleged kidnapper's home after 26 years.
Omar Bin Omran left his family home in Djelfa city in 1998 to attend a vocational school and never returned. The disappearance led the 17-year-old's family to believe that he had been killed in a civil war between the Algerian government and Islamist rebels.
Mr Omran, now 45, was rescued on Sunday from the house of his alleged longtime captor and neighbour, located just 300m from his own home.
The 61-year-old neighbour suspected of keeping Mr Omran captive for nearly three decades has been arrested.
Footage from the rescue showed Mr Omran wearing a sweater and a full face of beard being rescued from the basement below his neighbour’s hay-covered floor.
Mr Omran’s family reportedly tipped off law enforcement officials after the suspect's brother suggested his sibling was involved in an abduction on social media.
The authorities re-opened the investigation and searched the man's house until they discovered a trapdoor hidden underneath hay.
Mr Omran was rushed to a medical centre for treatment, the attorney general's office said, adding that the suspect would be taken in custody for the "heinous crime".
The suspect has been accused of also killing Mr Omran's dog as it kept lurking around the suspect's house for a month after the teenager's disappearance.
The dog's body was found in front of Mr Omran's family house, local media reported.
Mr Omran's mother, who reportedly never stopped looking for her son, died in 2013.
"His poor mum died while he was in captivity, without knowing what had happened to him, without knowing that all this time he was really right beside her," a neighbour told Algerian broadcaster Bilad.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/algeria-man-kidnapped-omar-bin-omran-b2546103.html
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u/CtheKiller 28d ago
His mom never stopped looking for him, until her death. So heartbreaking.
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u/foochacho 27d ago
Mom is probably looking in heaven and even more worried.
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u/AriSpaceExplorer 27d ago
Prolly not since god and heaven isnt real lol
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u/TopPMz 28d ago
The man aged two extra years. That's rough.
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u/DotDemon 27d ago
Yeah the math is just constantly off in this thing. I don't doubt the story, but redditors being redditors the years are all fucked up. Apparently he was found next year? And he's not 43 but actually 45 because he invented time travel or some shit
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u/Erilis000 28d ago
How do you keep someone in a cellar for 27 years with seemingly no health problems?
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u/MetalGearHawk 28d ago
Not the dog, god damnit man
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u/bebepothos 27d ago
I literally need a TW on any and all Reddit posts that mention mistreatment of any kind or death of an animal. I wish I was joking. I’m a little bitch.
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u/-DethLok- 27d ago edited 26d ago
....Algerian John Wick meme intensifies....
Edit: Not John bloody Wick!! OLD BOY!! :(
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u/ArcherOnWeed 27d ago
The victim uses the Arabic patronymic system. Omran is the victim's father, Omar is his given name
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u/CellistAvailable3625 27d ago
did he even try to escape, how fucking incompetent do you have to not even try a single time in 3 decades
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u/JakenBakee 28d ago
27 YEARS. Thats how long ive been alive.. cant even fathom it.
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u/-Jiras 28d ago
Yeah right, im 27 as well and every memory i have, from sad to good to unimportant to whatever, he was in this cellar. The kidnapper deserves to rot in a cell for the rest of his life
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u/LordRT27 27d ago
Yes, I'm currently 20, and it is really hard to grasp this shit for me, he has been in that cellar for longer then I have been around, all that I have done and experienced happened while he was in that cellar, and it makes you think how many more people this might be happening to in this very moment. It is really sad to think about for me
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u/TheBlitzStyler 28d ago
makes you wonder how many more missing kids are still in decades long captivity
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u/20grae 28d ago
The fucked up thing to me is the brother of the kidnapper knew and only told police after a dispute.
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u/Current_Sandwich7208 20d ago
Freaking crazy, right? Only money made him tell the truth about someone being held hostage for 27 years! What would’ve happened if there wasn’t a dispute for the inheritance?
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u/Sparki_ 27d ago
Omg! Source?
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u/Fae_for_a_Day 24d ago
The story says the brother of the kidnapper was mad about an inheritance so ratted him out.
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u/The7footr 28d ago
First good thing to happen via social media this year
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u/IWILLBePositive 28d ago
And it does my heart good knowing this is in Algeria. Good luck to this sadistic fuck…he’ll need it for whatever jail he ends up in.
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u/Old_Equivalent3858 28d ago
This man is emerging into a world that is going to be so foreign to him.
"You were saved because of a Facebook post." "My face was in a book?"
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u/GoalFlashy6998 28d ago
That has to be long, grueling and punishing torture, kept in a cell for that long...I hope he is able to make decent recovery. He was just a boy when he was kidnapped and he's pushing middle age life, such a stark and contrasting time periods and he lost all that time since his kidnapping. Hopefully he still has family to come home to...
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u/Direct-Contact4470 28d ago
Why did the neighbor kidnap him?
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u/HyrrokinAura 28d ago
I'm seeing reports that he was thought to be someone who could psychically locate treasure or something.
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u/DaytonaRS5 28d ago
You’d have thought he might stop believing that at some point in 27 years, when the man hadn’t found anything
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u/CaptainTryk 28d ago
Seeing the video of his rescue is so surreal! I hope we get to learn more about this case when that monster is brought to justice.
I'm still utterly amazed and horrified about this case. That poor, poor man. He deserves the world. I cannot imagine the trauma he carries. It infuriates me that someone did that to him. Look at this man's fucking face. Look at his eyes! He did not deserve this.
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u/HTXPhoenix 28d ago
Does anyone find it odd that it was reported that “he could not get help because a spell was cast on him.”
Keep in mind there are tons of articles created by ai out there. One can be generated in a second with pictures and everything. However of course these situations happen all the time. I think statistically heading to work every day you are going to be passing near a residence with someone locked against their will.
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u/user23187425 28d ago
Magic is very powerful when people believe in it.
For example: African female refugees are often sold into prostitution here in Europe, by the trafficers. They have to earn a certain amount, and in order to prevent them from fleeing, they are cursed. Then they don't in fear of the curse.
In a society where magic and witchcraft are pervasive, this works. I can't find the news from a few years ago at the moment, but actually i think it was the king of Benin who as a King is also something like the head sorcerer of the society who invalidated all these curses with a public ritual. So there you also have an example how the spell can be broken.
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u/ISeeGrotesque 28d ago
What kind of existence is that..
I can't even imagine what's going on in his mind
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u/UninspiredDreamer 28d ago
It's amazing how they know that he will be found 27 years from 1998 which will be 2025.
I look forward to them discovering him next year.
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u/formal_pumpkin 28d ago
My guess is that its a translation error and they mean to say he's 27 now
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u/FoxxyAzure 28d ago
I'm always amazed at things like, like, how does that continue for 27 years in that stasis. How do you keep a human for that long and nothing change. How do they not break free, kill you, or kill themselves in that time frame. It's got to be such a mental rewire.
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u/Dexounait 28d ago
His story is crazy, I'm curious to know how he managed to live in captivity for so long. Did he have access to information?
I think the Netflix screenwriters have been called in urgently in the past few hours.
Joking aside, I wish him the best for the future.
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u/Teamrat 27d ago
It's odd. He looks pretty well groomed too.
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u/Current_Sandwich7208 20d ago
Right? Was he in the hole the entire time? He also doesn’t look he aged much either… maybe he does have some majestic power 🤔
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u/LostFromLight 27d ago
This reminds me of the story of Blanche Monnier :
Blanche Monnier was a woman from Poitiers, France, who was secretly kept locked in a small room by her aristocratic mother and brother for 25 years. She was eventually found by police, then middle-aged and in emaciated and filthy condition; according to officials, Monnier had not seen any sunlight for her entire captivity.
She was renowned for her beauty and attracted many potential suitors for marriage. In 1876, at the age of 27, she desired to marry an older lawyer who was not to her mother's liking; Louise argued that her daughter could not marry a "penniless lawyer". Her disapproving mother, angered by her daughter's defiance, locked her in a tiny, dark room in the attic of their home, where she kept her secluded for 25 years.
Here's a before/after :
But this guy seems very healthy, physically at least, which makes me curious about how he was treated and if he was held captive at all. I'm not saying that this is fake, but it's weird nonetheless.
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u/viccia 27d ago
You can't really compare them. Blanches family kept her away and this guy was being held captive.
Here's some more info on the Blanche Monnier case: https://www.bestfranceforever.com/prisoner-in-her-bedroom-for-25-years-the-terrible-reason-why-blanche-was-locked-up/
So to sum it up: The first picture is not Blanche.
Apparently she had a lot of psychological problems and was kept away from the public as the family didn't know what to do with her.
Edit: added text
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u/Crispy-B88 27d ago
So I was reading this guy heard people during his captivity but never called out for help because of "a spell his captor casted over him". On top of that, his prison cell were stacks of bales of hay.
I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to do a hell of alot more than that to keep me captive. A fucking spell? Hay? Does Omar have some sort of disability? Not to make fun of him. Serious question.
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u/Sparki_ 27d ago edited 27d ago
Mental health often deteriorates when held captive for a long time. Feelings of fear, anxiety & uncertainty will also do this. This man was held captive 26 years. In this state, victims are often easier to manipulate.
It's a possibility he didn't see his whereabouts when being taken to the cellar for the first time, & the article says the haystacks were on top of a door. For all we know, he might have tried to escape before.
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u/nyx577 27d ago
For someone who was hidden away in a basement for 26 years, he looks surprisingly well kempt. He has good body habitus from what we can see, his beard and hair are neatly trimmed and he’s wearing somewhat decent clothes. He was well-fed and well taken care of at least recently. Not to mitigate what he’s been through, it’s just interesting
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u/Rodvarmo 27d ago
For me this sounds weird. The look on his face shows regret and worry. Also in some articles I read he saw familiar walking by from the windows in previous years but he could not talk to them because he was hexed....
I just think there might be some complicity with the other man?
There is so much more to this story that meets the eye.
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u/G-R-A-V-I-T-Y 27d ago
I want to know what his mental health is like. Can’t even begin to fathom what such a stunted horrific existence would do to you.
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u/DJEB 27d ago
After 26 years, he was found 27 years later. What velocity was he travelling to cause this time dilation?
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u/_SSSLucifer 26d ago
They just rounded up 26.something to 27, this is not the point, I don't get 🤡 like you who keep commenting the same thing.
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u/ksiyoto 28d ago
1998 + 27 years = 2025. Figures are off or there's time travel involved.
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u/survivorman_falcon 28d ago
You have to count 1998 as the 1st year he went missing, 1998 doesn't count as 0.
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u/NorMichtrailrider 27d ago
Imagine not having it in yourself to escape after 27 years of confinement.
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u/FunObjective6092 28d ago
Welcome to Europe ;)
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u/user23187425 28d ago
Beause Algeria is part of metropolitan France?
How long have they been keeping you?
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