- "I have come to take you to Tropoje to face you to the people whose lives you have ruined. To give them justice."
- ―Murad reveals his motive to Bryan Mills.
Murad Hoxha is a crime boss and freelance terrorist who was the head of the Albanian Mafia, alpha sex trafficker, and the main antagonist in the 2012 film, Taken 2.
He is portrayed by Rade Šerbedžija.
Biography
Murad was the father of Marko, one of the kidnappers who took Bryan Mills' daughter, Kim, in Taken. Bryan killed Marko by electrocuting him to death, and Murad became hellbent on avenging his son as well as the many other Albanians that Bryan had killed during his search for Kim.
Murad and his men tortured a corrupt officer named Jean-Claude Pitrel, an ex-friend of Bryan's, to learn Bryan's identity before killing him, and then tracked Bryan, Kim, and his ex-wife Lenore to Istanbul, Turkey. Murad's men captured both Bryan and Lenore, but Kim, who was still at the hotel, received instructions from Bryan which allowed her to help free him. An obvious misogynist, Murad told Bryan while in captivity that Kim would be sold back into prostitution to be "had by so many men that she will be nothing more than a piece of meat not even a dog would have" and he would have to watch Lenore die of blood loss. He then had his men cut a small slit in Lenore's neck and hung her upside down, right in front of Bryan. Murad then left to make sure that Kim was captured, but she had already escaped and made her way toward the location of her parents. Kim let Bryan out and the two escaped. Murad's men pursued them, but they managed to escape unharmed.
Toward the end of Taken 2, Bryan found Murad's safehouse where Lenore was held captive. Bryan killed the last of Murad's men before he confronted Murad himself, saying that he does not want to kill him simply because he is "tired of it all". Murad claimed that if Bryan killed him, his sons would try to avenge him, so Bryan agreed to let him go as long as he left him and his family alone. Bryan dropped his gun and began to walk away, but Murad picked it up and aimed it at him. However, Bryan had intentionally unloaded it beforehand and realized that Murad would never drop his vendetta against him. After he knew that his family would always be under threat as long as Murad was alive, Bryan becomes infuriated and kills him by pushing him into a coat hook, which impaled Murad through the back of his neck.
Personality
Murad was naturally a very callous and amoral individual, being the head of the Albanian Mafia. While he does genuinely grieve for the loss of his sons and many of his men, he also doesn't seem to have much self-awareness as he doesn't realize his the height of his own hypocrisy. He chastises Bryan for the killing the traffickers and and ruining their families' lives, while the Albanian Mafia abducts and enslaves random women and girls from around the world, ruining both the girls' lives and the lives of their families.
His dishonorable nature is made even more apparent when he tries to shoot Bryan in the back, despite promising to drop his vendetta against him, ultimately leading to his death.
Quotes
- "He slaughtered our men, our brothers, our sons. The dead cry out to us for justice. On their souls, I swear to you. The man who took our loved ones from us, the man who has brought us such pain and sorrow, we will find him. We will bring him here. We will not rest until his blood flows into this very ground. We will have our revenge."
- "If it brings them peace, call it whatever you want."
- "I don't care what he did!"
Trivia
- Murad is the closest to an equal for Bryan Mills seen in the series. He is a concerned father who is willing to do whatever it takes for his child, even if it means torture. He even wears a leather jacket.