Man jailed after recruiting others to help kidnap his brother-in-law because he disapproved of sister's marriage

News.com.au

27-05-2025

A man who orchestrated a criminal enterprise to kidnap his brother-in-law because he and his family didn't approve of the groom has been sentenced to four years in prison, with three co-accused avoiding jail.
Kodar Faytrouni drove at least nine hours from Melbourne to Sydney with three other men to kidnap his sister's husband, Younis Younis, in January 2023.
He pleaded guilty to charges of take/detain person in company with intent obtain advantage and common assault along with one of the co-accused, Abud Elkerdi, with the pair appearing before Judge Stephen Hanley in the Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday afternoon.
The court was told Faytrouni was the 'architect' of the kidnapping.
His sister, Hanadi, had visited him in Melbourne in January 2023 to tell him she married Mr Younis.
While Faytrouni initially told his sister he was happy for her, he embarked on the lengthy journey to Sydney with the co-accused to kidnap her husband that same month.
The court was told Mr Younis was assaulted, grabbed, and was 'manhandled' outside his home before he was taken to a car.
Mr Younis was hit repeatedly while in the back seat of the car, with photographs taken depicting Mr Younis being held in a headlock as he was driven to Faytrouni's fathers' home.
There, he was directed to divorce his wife over the phone, with Judge Hanley telling the court Hanadi could hear Mr Faytrouni screaming at her husband to tell her they were divorced.
She started to cry, and the call ended.
Mr Younis' shirt was ripped during the ordeal, and he was given a different shirt and slippers to wear before he was again taken into a car.
Police managed to stop the vehicle — they'd been alerted to an incident after Mr Younis' neighbour saw him being taken away from his home.
Judge Hanley said Mr Younis 'would've been extremely frightened' until police intervened.
He said Faytrouni refused to accept his sister was able to freely make choices about who she was in a relationship with, with the beliefs 'contrary to our society'.
'I am satisfied that irrespective of whether he was upset or directed by his parents … that in the fact that he employed several other people, being the co-accused, to go with him, he was not going to have a quiet talk with the victim,' Judge Hanley told the court.
Judge Hanley said Faytrouni appeared to show 'little concern for the impact on the victim', though his wife said he was remorseful.
Though he appeared to initially support his sister's marriage, Judge Hanley said he was allegedly 'quickly persuaded otherwise' by his parents.
Faytourni's wife said he was willing to change and the incident has been a 'massive wake up call'.
'I'm satisfied despite his lack of empathy to the victim that he has reasonable prospects for rehabilitation,' Judge Hanley told the court during sentencing.
He took into account Faytrouni's mild intellectual disability and mental health conditions, as well as the need to dissuade others with 'like-minded views'
'(I am) satisfied that he was the principal offender and architect of the offending behaviour,' Judge Hanley said.
'Kodar was the architect of the criminal enterprise.'
Faytrouni was sentenced to four years imprisonment to commence on April 8 this year. He will be eligible for parole in 2027.
He has already spent about 49 days in custody, while Elkerdi has spent about 27 days in custody.
His family broke down in court as he was escorted out of court by officers, with one family member sobbing.
The court was told Faytrouni had a difficult life and had mental health conditions and a mild intellectual disability.
His co-accused, Elkerdi, was sentenced to two years and two months to be served by way of intensive correction in the community, commencing on 27 May 2025.
The court was told he'd expressed regret and remorse to a psychologist, and that he had a moderate intellectual disability and mental health conditions.
A doctor opined his intellectual disability could make him 'susceptible to the influence of others'.
The two other co-accused are serving intensive correction orders in the community over the incident, while Faytrouni's father, Imad, is set to front a trial on September 1 over a charge of take/detain person in company with intent obtain advantage.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.