Peter Shaw (kidnap victim)
Encyclopedia
Peter Shaw is a British businessman who spent several months as a hostage during 2002.
Shaw, originally from Cowbridge
in South Wales
, was working as an adviser to the Agro-Business Bank in Tbilisi
, Georgia
, when he was kidnapped on June 18, 2002, shortly before he was due to return to the UK. He was held underground for several months before escaping in early November. His kidnappers had held him chained up underground in freezing conditions in the region of Pankisi Gorge
while demanding a ransom
of US$2 million. Local MP John Smith
was among those who had attempted to intercede on his behalf. Four men were arrested in connection with the kidnapping the following year.
His book about his experiences, Hole - Kidnapped in Georgia, was published in 2006.
Shaw, originally from Cowbridge
Cowbridge
Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...
in South Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, was working as an adviser to the Agro-Business Bank in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, when he was kidnapped on June 18, 2002, shortly before he was due to return to the UK. He was held underground for several months before escaping in early November. His kidnappers had held him chained up underground in freezing conditions in the region of Pankisi Gorge
Pankisi Gorge
The Pankisi Gorge or Pankisi is a valley region in Georgia, in the northeastern corner of the country, bordering the Chechnyan republic of the Russian Federation. Administratively, it is included in the Akhmeta district of the Kakheti region...
while demanding a ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
of US$2 million. Local MP John Smith
John Smith (Welsh politician)
John William Patrick Smith is a Welsh Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for the Vale of Glamorgan from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
was among those who had attempted to intercede on his behalf. Four men were arrested in connection with the kidnapping the following year.
His book about his experiences, Hole - Kidnapped in Georgia, was published in 2006.