Silvia Romano: “I converted to Islam spontaneously. I changed four lairs, the kidnappers always armed and with their faces covered”

“Spontaneously converted and not forced” – Obviously, the fundamental point of the interrogation is the chapter on conversion to Islam.“It happened in the middle of captivity when I asked to read the Koran and I was satisfied, “he explained, defining the choice of religion as “Spontaneous and not forced“. The subject is delicate. According to some intelligence sources, in fact, that conversion could be the fruit of” the condition psychological where it was found during the kidnappingSo that’s an exquisitely story intimate and personal how belonging to a religion assumes an investigative meaning. Romano has denied some of the news circulated in recent months, such as marriage to a jailer: “There has been no marriage or relationship.alone respect“He told prosecutors. The jailers, Silvia said, were always present in at least three.” They explained their reasons and their culture to me, I also learned one little arab: My conversion process was slow and spontaneous “.

The kidnapping, the videos, the launch … Already in the hours after launch, the news circulated through intelligence sources. After liberation, the young woman told 007 Italians: I converted to Islam, it was my free choiceThey have treated me well and I was not forced to marryWe haven’t talked about conversion, the fact that we didn’t wanted to change clothes it had can mean many things, a custom acquired in these months, not necessarily other reasons, “says the Italian ambassador to Somalia, Alberto Vecchi. After liberation, in fact, the girl did not want to change her clothes, wearing a typical Somali dress, which she also wore upon arrival in Italy. “Kidnapped on November 20, 2018 in the town of Chakama in Kenya and immediately ended up in Somalia in the hands of Al Shabab, an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, Romano was held captive in four lairs, three of which have been identified: Bulo Fulay, Harardhere, Janale. According to sources of Mogadishu there is evidence that the volunteer was hidden from janale, from October 2019 to March 2020 (the city was liberated after the hostage’s transfer). Then new leads make her reappear in late April, along with other hostages, in an inaccessible area between Southwest and Jubaland called the elephant forest, an area under the control of jihadist militants, among others frequently under US attack. On the night between Friday and Saturday, the turning point finally arrived: Silvia Romano would be escorted out of the forest, in a free zone controlled by the federal government, on the way Afgoye-Mogadishu, where the Turkish-Somali bombardment that led to his release was unleashed.