After the kidnapping of a 46-year-old from Schwäbisch Hall and the arrest of several men, the background is still unclear. That is the content of the investigation, said a spokesman for the police.

The kidnapping victim was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, the German Press Agency learned. The spokesman said his condition was stable. The prosecutor responsible for the Heilbronn public prosecutor's office said there was much to suggest that the alleged perpetrators and the victim knew each other.

Two men had visited the 46-year-old on Tuesday afternoon for information from the public prosecutor's office and the police and, after a short conversation, dragged him out of his apartment into a car. They drove with him to Brandenburg. A witness informed the police about the incident in Schwäbisch Hall, and the officials then began investigating.

Police special forces arrested four people in a house in Schönwalde-Glien (Havelland district) on Wednesday - more than 500 kilometers away from the kidnapping site. They found the abductee there injured. At least three of those arrested are now to be brought before the magistrate. A possible involvement of the fourth suspect will be further examined, it said.

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