Eight members of an Israeli family, upset about a male relative's cross-dressing photos he shared on Facebook, were indicted Thursday on charges tied to their kidnapping and punishment of the 19-year-old.
Among the charges, said The Jerusalem Post, were "contact (with the victim) in order to commit a crime, kidnapping with intent to imprison, kidnapping with intent to threaten, imprisonment, threats and attacks, all because of the man's sexuality and photographs he published online, in which he is wearing a bridal gown."
The crimes happened four times over the past four months, and were done to "defend the family's honor," the indictment states, according to the newspaper.
The family lives in the Arab village of Tamra, and the 19-year-old in Tel Aviv, where he reportedly works as a drag queen in various nightclubs.
Ynetnews, an online English-language Israeli news website, said that the man, identified as "Angel," told the news site his family members were repeatedly harassing him to try to "set him back on the right path."
"I started working as a drag-queen, and after my photos appeared on the Internet, I started receiving threats," he told the news site.
"At first they told me 'Take the pictures off the Internet, or we'll kill you.' I was surprised, but moved on as usual. I had a good relationship with my family, so I ignored it," he said.
But, he said, three months ago some of his relatives were so infuriated they kidnapped him to his family's house, where "they threatened me, hit me and tied me in handcuffs."
In the most recent attack on Aug. 23, family members drove to his apartment, sprayed pepper spray in his face and again abducted him to Tamra, where they tied his hands with belts, blindfolded him with tape "and threatened to stab him" if he resisted, according to The Jerusalem Post, which said the man was chained to a window and locked in a room.
