A Canadian man who was held hostage in Libya says he thought he was going to die, right up until the moment he was released.
Aerospace engineer Frank Poccia, 52, and two Italians were captured by gunmen near Ghat, Libya, and held for 47 days before they were released. Poccia says he often expected to die during the ordeal.
"I was at peace with dying," he told CTV Montreal. "After the first day, I said, 'This is my fate, I am going to die here in the desert.'"
He described his captors as "gangbangers" who always wore masks and never spoke English. "These are not terrorists," he said. "They want money."
Poccia thought he was being taken out to the desert for execution on the day he was released. He recounted the terrifying car ride, describing the feeling of dread as the vehicle stopped and the hostage-takers told him to get out.
"They said start walking, so we walked about 100 metres and then they told us to kneel down on the floor," Poccia told CTV Montreal. "At that point it's like, OK, this is where they're going to kill us."
Instead he was let go, as first announced by the Italian government. It's unclear whether Italy paid a ransom for the three men, all of whom were born in Italy. The country has paid for hostages in the past. Canada, however, has a strict policy against paying for hostages.
Poccia is now back in Montreal with his family, where he plans to stay put for the foreseeable future.
"The family has been scarred by this," he said. "We're going to take it day by day."
With files from CTV Montreal
