Gerco van Deventer, a 48-year-old South African hostage who was abducted by jihadists in Libya in November 2017 and later transferred to Mali, has been released after more than six years in captivity, according to reliable sources.
The former nurse is currently receiving medical care in Algiers, as reported by both security and humanitarian sources. A Malian security source stated, “We learned that the South African hostage [Gerco van Deventer] was released the day before yesterday,” on Friday, December 15. This information was corroborated by a foreign humanitarian source, who confirmed that the release occurred at the border between Mali and Algeria. Both sources affirmed details provided on December 17 by a South African humanitarian organization, Gift of the Givers, which played a facilitating role in the liberation.
Gerco van Deventer, employed by a security company, was kidnapped in Libya on November 3, 2017, while en route to a construction site for a power plant approximately 1,000 kilometers from Tripoli. He was subsequently transferred to Mali.
According to the security source, “He is currently under observation in a hospital in Algiers.” The humanitarian source mentioned having “briefly met” the former hostage at the Algerian border, without specifying the date. “He has been transferred to Algiers, where he is expected to be admitted to a hospital before returning to South Africa on an unspecified date,” she added.